Excalibrrr II
by Terakali
Summary: Things didn't go quite to plan, but then what does? From Jaune to the Gods themselves, everyone makes mistakes, and plenty more will be made as Excalibrrr undergoes its rewrite. Jaune ends up replacing Ruby on the newly minted Team Jabberwocky, and he could not be happier. Sorry, did I say happier? I meant more terrified. Rated T for language and suggestive themes.
1. Thawing Out

**Hello, everyone. Excalibrrr ended in a really unsatisfying way, for both me and my audience, and so it is undergoing a thorough rewrite. There will be a number of changes, many of which you could begin to see in chapters one and two already, but some of which will come much later.**

**The biggest changes come in the end, with the total removal of TGWP elements. They don't mesh with Volume 6 Salem or my current plans, and thus have been washed out. However, minor changes to Jaune and Ozpin will be abundant throughout the story, and more little things will happen.**

**I hope to improve everything about the story, and am actively looking for criticism about both this version and the last. **

**As before, replies to reviews will be at the bottom of this chapter. They will be in chronological order, instead of by chapter, so you might have to look through them to find what you're looking for. Reviews to the preview of this on the original Excalibrrr will also be appearing here, so there may be 'extra' review replies.**

**Please, enjoy.**

* * *

Jaune nearly stumbled when he dropped from the bullhead.

Not that it was airborne- which didn't seem to mind the six people who'd jumped out before it landed. However, some pile of cartilage had decided not to give the airship some kind of ramp or stairs. The larger ships had them, so it's not like they hadn't thought of it.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice his slip up, and he spared a moment to get his bearings.

Before anything else, he patted himself down to make sure he still had everything. He could feel the weight of Crocea Mors at his hip, and he found his wallet and scroll easily enough. The pamphlet he'd grabbed in the ride over was gone, but he could have just left it somewhere in his haste to get off the accursed vehicle.

That's the other thing about bullheads- what really made him angry and nauseous; he got airsick.

He had no idea why since nobody else in his family had the same problem, but then Fate did love pissing all over him.

What limited distractions he had on hand exhausted, Jaune finally turned his attention to his destination: Beacon Academy.

The school buildings themselves were a distance away since he was still on the airfield, but that only made how towering they seemed more impressive. While he doubted they saw much use, the spires reached a good hundred feet into the air, and they were dwarfed still by the clocktower at the center of the facility. The time- 4:02, he noted- showed on the clockface his way, but behind it would be the most powerful man on that planet.

Ozpin, the elderly ruler and headmaster of Beacon, had let him in. That was... Terrifying, to say the least. Not the acceptance itself, which he'd expected, but the fact that Ozpin had personally messaged him with the result.

Jaune didn't even need to look to his scroll to see the message- it was forever burned into his mind.

_Congratulations on your entry to Beacon Academy, Jaune Arc. We have reviewed your application, and you are hereby invited to join us for a four-year tenure starting September 18th. Please arrive for the entrance ceremony before 4:30._

_I look forward to seeing the Arc Legacy continued, and will be putting in every effort to see it happen. Please, enjoy your time here._

_Ozpin._

The first half seemed almost automated, and very well might have been, but the second... Ozpin had to know what he'd done, yet he was in anyway.

Jaune wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but that just didn't sit well with him. If nothing else, stressing over that had distracted him from his own airsickness, letting him keep his lunch down. He could still taste the bile and had stood near a trash can the whole ride, but he hadn't actually needed to use it.

Silver linings and all that.

Jaune shot back a step at a sudden explosion, which- if nothing else- tore him from his despairing thoughts. It was frighteningly close, too! Were they under attack!?

There were only a pair of stragglers nearby, but they didn't seem even mildly concerned with the tuft of smoke lazily ascending into the sky. Were random explosions normal, then? He honestly couldn't tell if that was _worse _than being under attack.

If nothing else, a few dozen trained fighters were just ahead of him, so Jaune made his way towards it. Cautiously, of course.

The remnants of the explosion were entirely absent by the time he arrived, which seemed a little odd, but then what did he know? Dust- the most likely source of it- was utterly beyond him. Seriously- there'd been this one video of a dude setting his house aflame with fire Dust and causing absolutely no damage.

While there wasn't a crater in the ground, there was a red and black garbed figure flat on their back about where it had been. Had someone been hurt?

Nobody else was nearby, so Jaune took it upon himself to walk over and check on them.

It was a girl- that much was clear once he got closer. She had a fairly masculine figure, but the skirt kind of gave it away. The rest of her outfit seemed equally impractical- heeled boots, thin leggings, and a giant red cape that was showing clear signs of age. She didn't look old enough to go here, either, though that just made her as unqualified as him.

Her eyes opened and Jaune froze. Crap- she was awake and he'd just been standing over her. Maybe she didn't notice how long he'd been there...?

"Hi there," Jaune greeted, hoping to distract her with his offered hand. "You looked like you could use some help."

She stared up at him for a brief moment, but before he could really feel awkward about it, she grabbed his hand and hauled herself up. Jaune, in turn, ignored the fact she nearly pulled him off his feet.

"Sorry- I was expecting some pun about needing a hand." She rubbed the back of her head, a nervous tick Jaune shared. "Sisters, you know."

Jaune chuckled. Yeah- he knew a little something about sisters, having come from a family of seven. "What caused that explosion, anyway?"

The girl winced, and he realized his mistake right away. On the off chance he missed it, she whispered it to herself as well. "You weren't supposed to ask that..." Okay, he got the social faux pas, but he was curious. If it was normal, should he have already known? Did huntsmen just randomly explode!?

He knew a bit about semblances since his father frequently used his at home, but he could have created explosions as a kid! Damn... He'd need to look it up later since the girl looked keen to not answer his question.

"I'm Jaune," he eventually said, changing the subject. "Jaune Arc- short, sweet, rolls off the tongue; ladies love it." _Nailed it, _he mentally cheered at getting through it without stuttering. He'd practiced in front of a mirror, but it was a little different doing that in front of someone.

Speaking of, that someone was busy giving him a deadpan expression and staring blankly into his eyes. Maybe... Maybe his mom was wrong?

After a moment, she snorted, breaking out into a fit of laughter.

_No..._ Jaune groaned, slumping his shoulders. He'd thought it was cool.

"Ruby," she managed in the middle of her giggling fit. "Ruby Rose." She gave him a coy smile, which he instantly recognized from the youngest- Amber. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue."

She left the last bit off, but he heard it, and _damn _did it sound awkward from the outside. At least, abbreviated as it was, her introduction was only embarrassing for him.

"Hardy-har-har," he deadpanned right back. "I get enough of this from _my _sisters. Can we just get to... Wherever we're supposed to go?"

Ruby blinked, looking down for a moment before scanning their surroundings. "Crap..."

Jaune sighed. "You don't know where we're going either, do you?"

"Nope."

Fun...

"Well, we might as well start there," Jaune said, pointing to the largest building nearby. At a guess, it was either an open gym or auditorium, which made it as good a place to go as any. He took the lead, but could only watch pathetically as a red blur shot past him with ease.

_In for a penny._

* * *

They hadn't missed the speech, thankfully, but that didn't mean he really cared for it. There were a number of lines in it that seemed pointed directly at him, but it otherwise seemed identical to the motivational speeches he was used to as a kid.

The heroic themes involved were nice and all, but he already knew what he was here to do. Beacon was where warriors went to learn their craft.

From where he stood in the gymnasium, he had a clear view of at least a hundred potential warriors. Despite the size of the facility, it was clear not everyone would be getting in, and several people were already panicking about that very fact.

It was kind of strange that he wasn't, honestly. Perhaps he was already resigned to his low odds, and the likely results, but that didn't seem right. As he scanned the crowd, he simply felt at ease.

Perhaps it was Ozpin's words themselves. If he had hoped for him to succeed, it had to be possible, and he doubted Ozpin would accept his application only to dump him right off the bat. Either way, as he laid back under his weighted blanket, he was calm. Hopefully, he would feel the same when the Initiation Ozpin spoke of finally came.

A commotion on the other half of the auditorium- unofficially the female half- drew his attention. From the way several of his peers were staring, he wasn't alone, though the people behind the disturbance didn't seem to notice them.

It was Ruby again, being shouted at by some white-haired girl he didn't recognize. By them, but not actively participating, was a blond and black haired pair. It was too far to make out much more about them, but one was clearly just reading their book.

Hm... He should have brought a book too, honestly, as it was too far for him to hear anything. Since it looked like they weren't about to come to blows, Jaune ignored it, and simply rolled over to head to sleep.

* * *

_**Ring! Ring! Ring!**_

Jaune's hand waved about by his side, and the flailing motions managed to somehow convince the device that he was- in fact- awake. After a moment, he cracked his eyes, deciding that it would only cost him to be late to whatever trial the staff had in place for them.

Hopefully, it wasn't a written test... He wasn't a bad student in school- not really- but just by the nature of the profession, Jaune knew Beacon would have a different curriculum. Owning a local business or teaching? He was your man. Less so for fighting monsters or fighting natural disasters.

Granted, those were primarily skills he'd be learning here, but there _had _to be a mental component to it. Weak points on Grimm, or something like that.

Hm... This place had a library, didn't it? If he knew what the test was on, maybe he could study it beforehand.

Jaune glanced to the clock, only to sigh when it said he had an hour until Initiation. Yeah... Not happening. He'd barely sat up in bed yet, and he still needed to get ready and retrieve his stuff.

Come to think of it, did they get to eat at the cafeteria yet? It was just opposite the auditorium, though with a hallway in between, and he could already _smell _the food inside. It wasn't the most unique scent- just eggs, bacon, and what could have been hashbrowns or some variant of toast- but it was strong, and the growling in his chest demanded to be sated.

Eh, it was worth a shot.

A minute later found him dressed and just past the entrance to the cafeteria. His nose hadn't lied- though, it had _both _hashbrowns and toast available- and it seemed a lot of other students had the same idea as him. He recognized a few of them, but many more were entirely new. Older students?

Regardless, there didn't seem to be anyone charging for food, but instead just a wide buffet on hand for anyone to grab.

Jaune shrugged, grabbing a tray and hoarding up a few servings of scrambled eggs- salted to taste. While he'd have normally gotten a proper variety, he couldn't be asked right now, and the large spoon he grabbed would let him dig into it with ease.

Where to sit, then?

An unspoken rule of... Basically everywhere was the nature of spots. Wherever you sat, that was almost always where you'd sit for as long as you went there. Wherever he chose, he wouldn't be stuck with per se, but soon would be once everyone else was.

Scanning the room, he took stock of everything he could. There were bathrooms on either end, the buffet in the middle, and exits damn near everywhere. Given that, there wasn't anywhere all that 'better' to sit at. It was mostly the _people _that would make a spot.

Lacking anyone else to search for, he scanned the room for Ruby, but she was strangely absent. Maybe she woke up earlier?

Either way, as he finished his cursory check, his gaze settled on a familiar shock of blond. She was in a different outfit than before, but that golden mane would be recognizable anywhere. It was shockingly similar to his own sisters, really, though Dad would never allow them to have such a wild hairstyle.

Still... Would it be weird to approach her because of Ruby? He didn't even know her relationship with this girl, which could very well be 'acquaintance'.

_Welp, _Jaune said, newly set on going. _There's only one way to find out._

* * *

**Review replies (in chronological order):**

**CasualHarambe: I mean, I could spoil it, but I don't think anyone wants that.**

**Z-ro: I've been trying to avoid covering direct canon events, and so much is going to be different in this version that I largely won't have to. Thanks for the support, as well.**

**Meme (Guest): The pace is rather high at the start, but it will slow down quite substantially once Jaune and Weiss reach an accord and he finally gets an chance to settle in. Should be pretty soon, actually.**

**Ddraigspiderarc609: Not quite. Still, thanks.**

**Celestia's Paladin: Heh. I've always thought Jaune was academically quite good. He just didn't have the same curriculum everyone else did.**

**Ddraigspiderarc609: I can see what you mean, but read the A/N in Steel Wall. I don't want to copy it here, but he is sort of right in that the scene between Roman and Jaune is frighteningly similar to one from Coeur Ar'Alan.**

**IExistInAStateOfPureCaffiene: Er... Thanks, I guess? **


	2. There Be Dragons

**I really hate this website sometimes... I typed 'There Be Dragons' in when originally submitting the document, but the submission itself was rejected because I wasn't verified or something. I copied it over again, and when I went to type the name of the document, a prompt came up to autocomplete it. I clicked it, and went to submit.**

**So now I have a document called 'There be' in my list, and you can't rename things in the Doc Manager. Thank you, FF, you always do such great work.**

**Enough bitching, though. I have a chapter to finish, and you have a chapter to read, so enjoy There Be Dragons.**

* * *

Under any other circumstance, he would have been anxious about sitting opposite the girl. Fortunate, then, that he came armed with both a valid reason and- strangely enough- an identical tray of food to distract himself with if things went poorly.

"Hey," Jaune waved as he set said tray down. "I'm Jaune, a fri-"

"You're real..." the girl interrupted, mouth agape. "I thought she was getting out of making friends by making one up, but you're real..."

Jaune just kind of sat there, frozen, as the blonde went through a series of faces and emotions before finally settling on a smile.

"Welcome to the den of Yang Xiao Long, traveler! Have you come seeking wisdom from the ancient dragons, or are yee seeking guidance on the rose?"

Wow... Listening intently did _not _help him decipher that. At least he had her name, and confirmed some kind of connection between her and Ruby. The whole 'guidance on the rose' part cinched it. Still, he could play along to some degree.

"I am Jaune Arc, knight, and hopeful Huntsman. I come offering a hand of friendship-" he extended his hand over the table to her- "and ask merely for the hostilities between our races to end."

Yang smirked, taking his hand and _thoroughly _crushing it within her own. _Oum, how strong is this woman?! _He could feel the bones in his fingers and palm grating on one another, all the while she continued to just smile in his direction.

"REN!" a shout came from somewhere behind him. "I _told _you others would play Towers and Dragons with us!"

His savior- since Yang loosened her grip the second she shouted- was sitting on his left before he even heard her move. It was yet another girl, though markedly unique from those before. She had short orange hair, white and pink clothing including _another _bloody skirt, and what looked like a grenade launcher strapped to her back.

Of course, despite her bearing both lethal weaponry and an odd hair color, his eyes were immediately drawn to her bust. I mean, come the fuck on- she literally had a heart cut out of her shirt to show off her cleavage! It was a trap for sure, but dammit if it wasn't an effective one.

However, unlike virtually every other female on the planet, she didn't seem to take offense to his gawking and simply moved on as if nothing had happened. You know what? Sure- he could roll with the punches. If she was cool with it, so was he.

_Now, where's this Ren...?_

Jaune did a quick scan of the table, finding only one person close enough to be the mysterious Ren. It was a guy, though as was quickly becoming apparent, the people at this school had a habit of not looking like their gender. He had rather long hair, including an out of place pink stripe, and wore some kind of dark green Mistralian outfit.

He didn't see any weapons, but then he didn't have his either. They were probably just in his locker.

"Nora," he said, lacking the exuberant energy of his companion. "I said I wasn't dming for you again _or _letting you dm- not that we wouldn't find more people."

Jaune couldn't see her eyes since Ren was to _her _left, but he had a feeling she rolled them. "And I'm sure one of them would love to dm, right guys?"

The last part was addressed to him and Yang, and while the latter's smile suddenly became a lot more brittle, Jaune's only grew. "Sounds like fun to me. But before that, we gotta get through Initiation, right?"

"Pfft- don't worry about it," Nora casually dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I can bench five of me and Ren's fists are harder than steel. We'll be fine."

_That _got Yang's attention. "A melee fighter, huh? Care for a sparring match, big boy?"

Ren didn't take the obvious bait, but he pointedly didn't say no either.

"That means yes!" Nora shouted, dragging him and Ren against her sides. "This year is gonna be so much fun!"

_It sure is, _Jaune thought, trying to ignore the painful way his spine was bending under her arms. _It sure is..._

* * *

Initiation came too soon. For him, obviously- everyone else seemed raring to go with whatever the staff had in store for them.

Crocea Mors hung at his hip, far more prepared than he was as he stood atop Beacon's cliffs. According to Ren, they were in place to prevent Grimm from climbing up, but then what were they doing here? Were they supposed to climb down into the Emerald Forest?

Jaune checked down the line of people with him. There were less than half as many as in the auditorium, implying not everyone would be going at once, but everyone he recognized was still here.

Nora, Ren, Ruby, and Yang were all to the far left, though still separated atop the weird squares they were told to stand on. To his right, he saw the black and white haired girls from the night before along with Pyrrha.

The girl had joined them all at the table sometime later- apparently Nora basically forced her to join them when it was apparent she was alone. She didn't complain, so at least she was cool with it. She was nice too, if less talkative than everyone else seemed to be.

Out of all of them, she seemed to have the most normal weapon too. From what he could see, she just had a spear and shield, and her shield didn't even collapse into a sheath like his did. At least he wasn't outlandish for that, right?

And then came the initiation itself... Ozpin was still waiting for a few stragglers to get into position, but he would explain any minute now.

Any minute now.

Any-

"Ah, there you are Sky. How kind of you to join us."

Jaune looked where Ozpin had been, noting a zombie-like teen lumbering their way. Not enough sleep? Jaune was kind of an outlier with how early he went to bed normally, so it made sense a few people wouldn't be able to adapt. Hopefully, he'd get better later on.

"Now that we're all here, allow me to explain what's going on. Within the Emerald Forest, you will find a set of ruins, within which there are a set of artifacts. Each of you will collect one and return yourselves here by whatever means you can. One artifact to a pair and anyone returning without one will not be attending Beacon this year."

Okay... It sounds like a relatively simple task. Presumably, there would be Grimm down there, but so close to Vale, they couldn't possibly allow the larger Grimm the thrive. Just survive a few Beowulves, right? Besides, there were a lot of them. They could handle whatever came up.

"As for your pairing," Ozpin began again, "the first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Yeah, that makes se-

_WHAT!?_

So much of that was wrong on so many levels, but the most pressing concern came first.

"When you say landing..."

Ozpin glanced to one side, and a moment later a monstrous spring shot Nora up and into the sky. She didn't seem to take issue with it, simply riding atop her rocket launcher as though it could actually freaking fly.

Ah...

"You will be making use of your own landing strategy."

Jaune's mouth ran dry, and a clawing feeling took hold of his insides. "Is there... Another option? A path downward or a parachute, perhaps?"

"No," Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug. "You will have to figure that out on your own."

That was insane! How many people died on this part alone!?

More people had already been shot off, and only some big dude in full plate was left before him. Okay- don't panic- they can't possibly do this without some kind of safety net, right? The lawsuits alone would bankrupt them in a year.

Jaune closed his eyes and grit his teeth. The spring to his left shot, giving him a few seconds to shut out the world. _Something _would catch him, surely? Him taking action could only get in the way since there was no way he'd save himself.

All at once, the floor beneath him vanished, and all sound was replaced by the whistling of air. He was spinning through the air- he could feel that- but he kept himself as still as possible and tried not to imagine himself splattering painfully against the ground.

Something took hold of his hood, dragging him off course. _Thank you, Oum, _he prayed, keeping his eyes shut as he continued through the air. His trip came to an end shortly thereafter, though cracking his head against a tree hadn't been a part of his 'not dying' plan.

* * *

The second he knew he was awake, Jaune cracked his eyes open. More than anything, he needed to see if he'd entered the afterlife.

Since he was unceremoniously hanging from the top of a tree, he doubted that somewhat.

Jaune glanced up to see what had caught him, only to find a _spear impaling his hood to the tree. _Okay... That was ridiculously dangerous. Whose bright idea was it to-

A moment of realization took him as he finally recognized the weapon. It was Pyrrha's. Not a staff member's, or something like that. There _hadn't _been a safety net. He'd literally been flung to his death, only to be saved by another student.

Good god, this place was insane! Was this what _all _huntsman academies were like!?

No, no way, no, no, just no. He thought he could get in, get his Aura, and be fine, but _this bullshit!? _He was not dying before he even got the chance.

He needed to move. Without a partner, there was basically no way he'd be getting through this, and he knew enough about Grimm to know they'd be coming for him. Their entrances weren't exactly subtle- his least of all.

Jaune was about twelve feet off the ground- a pretty long fall- but there were some branches he could hopefully catch himself on the way down. He just needed to get the spear out right?

Bracing his feet against the tree, Jaune reached up and took hold of Pyrrha's weapon. Then, in one motion, he tore it from the tree.

Unfortunately, he overcompensated and suddenly found himself flying forward as the weapon came free with almost no resistance.

_Shit..._

He had the wherewithal to toss the spear to the side, preventing him from landing on the sodding thing, but that still left him to faceplant rather painfully into the dirt below.

And while he'd have loved to nurse the pain from that for a minute, he could already hear footsteps approaching. That could be another student or a Grimm, and he needed to be prepared either way.

Despite his protesting muscles, he withdrew his arms and took a ready stance in the direction he heard shuffling brush.

He caught sight of a red hood through the shrubbery and relaxed slightly, but Ruby wasn't alone, and Jaune's eyes trailed to the person with her. It was the white-haired girl she'd been arguing with last night... That was sure to be a volatile partnership.

Still, he was saved! While they wouldn't get along, the partnership could still-

"Congratulations- you are my partner," White said in the most entitled tone he'd heard in a long time. "Be honored that I will shape you into the best, but I will expect much from you."

_Huh...?_

How on Remnant did they make it all the way here without _once _making eye contact with one another!? Did one just keep their eyes closed the whole time or something!?

"Hello!" a voice he recognized greeted from his left. He hadn't heard her approach, but Pyrrha would obviously have come to collect her weapon.

Except, before his very eyes, Ruby went to claim her as her partner, leaving him with Mrs. Entitled over here. Of course Pyrrha would arrive too late to be his partner... Ruby too, apparently.

_Fate, this is revenge for faking my way here, isn't it?_ The sky held no answers for him, but the light breeze sounded suspiciously like 'loser'.

_Oum dammit._


	3. White Like Lotus'

**The amount of attention this got in just a few days is both quite satisfying and depressing for me. Every RWBY story I've made, with the exception of A Great Wind Is Blowing which we don't talk about, has gotten a surge of popularity right off the bat.**

**This story has almost as many followers as Fickle Things gained in four months... Goddammit.**

**Still, not gonna complain when it serves my ends. I hope you all enjoy the whole of initiation- I made it one chapter, despite the length, because interrupting it halfway just left a really annoying cliffhanger- even to me.**

**Oh- and I should probably bring attention to the chapter title this time around. Not because I think _any _of you missed the reference, but instead because you'll be seeing something similar to it much later.**

**Huehuehue.**

* * *

Jaune wasn't able to weasel his way out of the partnership with Weiss Schnee- and she pressed the use of her full name in her introduction. While she had no qualms blatantly disregarding the rules to ignore Ruby, the mere insinuation of him doing the same had a rapier pressed to his neck.

If he had his Aura, as she no doubt thought, the threat wouldn't have meant much. Lacking it, however, he was forced to relent, lest she accidentally kill him.

As he trailed behind her- doing his best to avoid the branches swinging back in his direction- he continued to silently panic. What did he do!? Okay, he knew what he needed to do, but _how_ was he supposed to ask _her _to awaken his Aura?

His fingers gently stroked the hilt of Crocea Mors, gaining a small comfort from the weapon. It didn't answer his questions, but the cold steel reminded him that he wasn't _completely _helpless.

In all honesty, the sword itself wasn't going to make much difference. Against anything they were likely to come across, Weiss would be more than enough to put it down. The shield, however, could offer him what he lacked- defense. So long as he blocked whatever came for him, he'd be fine.

_Actually... _Since they were bound to get into a fight anyway, Jaune drew his weapons. His sheath expanded into a shield in his left hand while he brandished the blade in his right.

Weiss heard the clasp of steel and turned. Her eyes widened a fraction before- in a blur- she was gone.

_Did I scare her? _That didn't seem possible, and she had her rapier out the entire hike. Still, she'd vanished somewhere.

Jaune looked around, spinning in place, until-

_Oh fu-_

His shield was knocked aside before he could finish the thought, and while he kept hold of it, that just sent him spiraling off to one side. At the very least, stumbling back into a nearby tree got him out of the way of the followup strike.

Good news- Weiss wasn't attacking him. Bad news- a Beowulf was.

A growl sounded off to his left, quickly correcting that number. He heard plenty more- further away, and accompanied by what he had to assume was Weiss fighting them.

_Okay- you're fine. Just dodge and block until she can take care of them_

The second he heard one of them move, Jaune rolled to the side- rightfully assuming they were targeting where he was. A black ball of murder crashed into the dirt where he'd just been, and the other wasn't far behind.

Jamming an elbow out to kick him up, Jaune landed in a crouch. He didn't wait around- jumping to his feet and ducking away from the other Beowulf.

In the moment he earned with his quick movement, Jaune took stock of the area. There weren't any extra Grimm waiting in the wings to ruin his day- that he could see, at any rate. However, there wasn't really anything he could use to his advantage. There were trees to hide behind, but with _two _opponents, that strategy would be far less useful.

His break game to an end before he could think of anything, and it was all Jaune could do to put his shield in the way of the Beowulf's swipe.

_Fuck- _he grunted, shoved back several feet through the sheer force behind it. _What does it weigh!? Four-hundred pounds!? _Even if it was lower than that, the damn thing was _definitely _stronger than he was, and he couldn't rely on his shield to block that kind of impact.

Great.

Just flippin' fantastic.

If nothing else, he'd stayed on his feet, which seemed to make them hesitate. Not for long- a second at most- but enough for him to correct his footing.

They charged in unison, one at both sides.

It only took a moment to find the flaw in their plan, and another to shamelessly exploit it. His right leg shuffled back slightly in preparation to sprint, and the second they were close enough, he shot between them.

Grimm were mindless- the lesser ones, at least- leaving them unprepared to follow up. Their own weight and speed prevented them from turning as fast as him, and Jaune pumped his arms and legs with all the blood in his adrenaline stream.

He wasn't outrunning them, no way, but there was nothing stopping him from leading them on a chase.

Jaune slowed briefly when he came across a drop. Sparing the barest moment to check for black, he threw himself into the dell- tumbling through the grass and brush far faster than he could have run.

His roll came to an end without warning, but he barely felt the moment his momentum came to a halt. Oh, he'd be feeling it later, but couldn't even afford to think about it since the sound of Beowulfs crashing recklessly after him was drawing close.

Jumping to his feet, Jaune tore up the opposite incline. The hill didn't go up quite as far as the last, and once he crested it, he spared a glance backward.

They were already halfway up and charging on all fours.

_Think- Jaune. You can't keep this up. _Even now, he could feel burning in his lungs, and it would only get worse as this kept up. He needed a more permanent solution.

Climbing a tree was immediately discarded. Even if they couldn't climb it- which he doubted- he didn't have the time to get up himself. Similarly, pulling the same trick to cross the ravine was impossible. Grimm lacked higher level thought- but they weren't completely mindless.

The choice was taken from him as one of the Beowulfs lept up towards him. Jaune dodged to the right, already planting his foot to throw himself left of the other one. Good thing too, since he narrowly avoided a bisection by claw.

He couldn't quite roll all the way to his feet, but a crouched position worked well enough. Jaune watched- not calm, but aware that acting needlessly would quickly end him; they growled, hatred visible in their glowing red eyes, before lunging again.

Each Beowulf took a different position and swept with the assumption that he'd dodge. Unfortunately, they weren't synchronized, so he couldn't pull the same 'taking the middle' trick as before. Instead, he spun out of the way of the first while withdrawing his shield.

Crocera Mors withstood the thundering blow with ease. His legs, on the other hand, buckled under the pressure- and he was counting on it. By relaxing into the strike, Jaune was lifted from his feet and flung a significant distance back.

It wasn't much- three meters at most- but it was enough for him to raise his shield again.

Coincidentally, it was also enough to give a certain white blur enough time to save his ass.

Two seconds- he counted- passed before both monsters dead. They didn't even have time to hit the ground before she was clipping her rapier to her hip and turning to him. She didn't look concerned, but nor was she impressed with what she saw.

"That," she began, pointing a finger as she marched towards him, "was a _travesty. _Who on Remnant oversaw your training?"

Jaune was breathing too heavily to properly answer, but he was at least able to raise his hands in surrender. It didn't placate her, but she waited expectantly for him.

"I did," he eventually managed, rising to his feet. Jaune gave himself a once-over, noting multiple gashes in his clothes that he'd need to deal with, but finding no actual injuries. Ignoring the ache in his back, he met Weiss' gaze. Unfortunately, she jumped in before he could explain.

"Clearly not well enough- you were nearly beaten by a pair of Beowulf! Civilians have done better!" Her glare passed from him to the smoking corpses, and back again. "I have half a mind to-" She paused. "Those tears... They weren't there before."

He rolled his eyes. Not the best move, but his self-preservation instincts had just gone through quite the workout. "Well, duh- I was just assaulted by monsters. How is that a surprise?'

"Your Aura, you dolt. Your weapons aren't damaged, so clearly you know how to course it into your equipment. Just do the same for your clothes- it's what the rest of us do."

Jaune winced, something she immediately caught onto.

"What?" she snapped.

"I... Don't _have_ an Aura?"

She went deathly silent, staring blankly into his eyes. Only adding to his dawning horror, a thin sheet of ice spread from the girls' feet, slowly inching towards him. She didn't even seem to notice the cold, either.

"Care to correct yourself, partner?" The words were brittle, her fractured smile moreso. "Surely you didn't sign up to a huntsman academy without so much as an active Aura. That would be quite the joke. Ha ha ha."

Jaune resisted the sudden urge to run away- if only because he knew she'd catch him anyway. "I'd planned to get that sorted while I was here... My fa-"

"You _idiot!_"

The shout caught him off guard. Not the words, which he'd more or less expected, but the way she said it. "Weiss...?"

"What could have _possibly _motivated you to come here at the expensive of your _life!?_" She shoved him back a step, pushing him up against a tree. "There's a reason people consider their Aura a life bar- the second it reaches zero against a Grimm, you're basically dead!"

She... Wasn't wrong. If there'd been some new law of reality spontaneously turning drained huntsmen into a fine red mist, well... not a whole lot would really change. "But you can awaken it, can't you? You have yours, so you must know how."

The fury left her eyes, replaced instead with apathy. "You don't even..." she tapered off, not even bothering to finish. Weiss drew back, leaving him to slump to the ground as she gathered her thoughts.

Sensing his imminent demise, Jaune wisely stayed quiet.

In what was perhaps _more _frightening than her anger itself, Weiss took over a minute to calm down enough to address him. She still wasn't neutral, but it was close enough.

"We can't awaken your Aura here." Jaune raised a hand to speak, but she silenced him with a glare. "Doing so requires a massive expenditure of Aura, which I might not even be able to do given the size of my own. Add onto the fact that we're in Grimm infested wilderness, and I'm not taking any chances."

_Makes sense. I wouldn't be experienced with it anyway, and I doubt I could defend her till initiation is over._

"That said, I will keep you safe for the duration of Initiation. Wouldn't do for me to let you die."

_Huh. That's surprisingly nice of her. _"Thanks, W-"

"And I'll have you removed from the school when its over."

_There it is. _"Why...?" He was sure there were more words to that question, but they were strangely absent under her arctic gaze.

"No huntsman academy worth its salt would ever accept a trainee who hadn't so much as unlocked their Aura- the training we endure isn't even possible without it. Given that, you either snuck in here without invitation or else there was some sort of mistake." She shrugged. "Either way, you clearly don't belong here."

Jaune made to argue, but Weiss had already turned to leave. It didn't take a genius to see the conversation was over.

Crap.

Hauling himself up, Jaune jogged after her.

* * *

He still hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her. Oh, he'd tried, but Weiss had simply taken the attempt as proof that they should be moving faster.

Since his life literally depended on her, he hadn't really been able to argue the point.

Thankfully, as they came out into a clearing, they finally found their objective. The ruins were certainly that; large stone structures lay broken apart, with only a few walls or pillars standing, all the while vines and grass grew atop the masonry. He didn't know enough to guess its age, but it had clearly been around long enough to merge with the terrain.

And then there were the people. He recognized most of them, though there were a number he didn't. The big armored guy from atop the cliff, another with a mohawk, and a few more without any really distinguishing characteristics. Honestly, compared to people like Weiss or Ruby, their appearances were boring.

Hell, even he stood out more with his white chestplate and blue jeans. Wasn't part of being a huntsman being a big obvious target to nearby Grimm? You wanted them to attack you over civilians, right?

Not that any of that would matter if he couldn't convince Weiss he belonged. Where was a problem when he needed one?

Jaune paused in the middle of the clearing, waiting for some horrifying Grimm to blast through the treeline and wreak havoc.

None did.

In a last desperate bid to find some sort of trial, Jaune looked to the sky. It was clear- no clouds _or _Nevermore soaring overhead.

Well, there goes that idea. Without training, he obviously wasn't proving himself physically, but if some massive enemy came around, maybe he could have proven himself tactically. No such luck.

With a long sigh, Jaune trailed after Weiss into the ruins proper. A series of pedestals- clearly cared for, since they were relatively clean and undamaged- were arranged in a semi-circle atop a stone outcropping. A few overly large chess pieces sat atop them, with many of the pairs already at the temple having claimed the remainder.

Weiss had already grabbed the knight piece- fitting, he supposed- and joined up with the rest of the group. Oh boy, another thing to get in the way of him convincing her he deserve to stay.

Annoyingly, they weren't even truly down with Initiation yet. There was still the process of getting back to Beacon, though it would thankfully be far safer with more than a dozen students hanging around. Of course, that very fact meant he couldn't corner Weiss until after.

Jaune looked back up towards the Beacon cliffs, both lamenting his suffering and- more importantly- wonder how the hell they were expected to get back up there.

He regretted asking.

* * *

"Congratulations to Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long who chose the White Knight pieces."

Jaune spared a glance to the second and third girls listed. He already knew one of them, conveniently enough, though it was cool to learn her full name. The other... Blake Belladonna was weird. He couldn't think of a better way to describe her, particularly with the way her bow seemed to perk up on hearing her name.

The four of them made their way on stage, showing their faces before the rest of the freshmen. Jaune watched the other three, paying particular attention to how they stood.

Weiss was rigid, but not in an obviously uncomfortable way. It was more... Practiced. Something she was comfortable doing, but not out of any outgoing nature. Speaking of, Yang posed dramatically with both fists raised as if to celebrate some victory. If nothing else, her energy was infections, and the crowd seemed to draw on that through a bit of clapping and cheers.

As ever, Blake was the odd one out. She stood further back on the stage, seemingly trying to hide from view. Strange, since she didn't have any problems being in the open during Initiation. The setting, perhaps?

He would have been pretty nervous about standing up here himself, if not for the far bigger problem of Weiss. Compared to that, silently standing on stage with three other people was nothing.

Ozpin turned to them, smiling enigmatically. "Oh," he began, as if just remembering something. "And congratulations, Jaune Arc, for becoming leader of Team Jabberwocky."

Jaune's eyes widened, but he made sure to clamp his jaw shut before he shouted something out. _What on Remnant is he thinking?_ He had a plan of some kind, obviously, but hell if there was any way he was figuring it out. Worse, this would only exacerbate the problem with Weiss. This _had _to be on purpose.

And Jaune could only glare uselessly as Ozpin as he turned back to address the crowd, leaving them to find their places back in the audience. This wasn't karma- Ozpin was screwing with him, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it.

_But if he made me leader, he clearly intends for me to stay..._ If nothing else, he should have Ozpin's support in that. It would still be a challenge to get to their level, particularly with his Aura still missing, but the cryptic asshole had inadvertently given him hope.

With that in mind, Jaune allowed himself a moment to relax as he listened to the headmaster speak.

* * *

"Hm? That's odd..." Ozpin noted, glancing up from his paperwork. He hadn't expected any interruptions this late, particularly the day of Initiation.

"Headmaster," a polite voice greeted as its owner stepped in from the elevator. _Ah- I simply miscalculated. _He knew Weiss would be visiting him at some point, but he'd thought she'd at least wait until morning. More fool him. "I'm afraid we have a problem."

Ozpin set his pen down and settled back into his chair. "I'm all ears."

She went on to explain her encounter with Jaune in the Emerald Forest- not that he needed it. Although the camera's didn't cover everything, he _had _seen it himself. A shame he couldn't simply tell her that... Part of the cameras' use came only whilst secret.

"It is a risk to both himself and his team for him to remain. He should be removed."

And thus they came to the crux of the issue... "I'm sorry, Miss Schnee, but I was already aware of his shortcomings when accepting his application." That seemed to shock her, though why was beyond him. Did she suspect he simply overlooked his complete lack of academic records? "Regardless of that, people come here to gain training, do they not?"

Of course, that was flawed logic, and she lept at the chance to point it out. "You have to reject some of the applicants- wouldn't you want those best able to use your teaching?"

_Perfect. _"Why yes, I would." She smiled. It didn't last long. "And that's why I accepted Jaune's application. I believe that he will take to our lessons far more than most _because _of his failures. Tell me- how much do you think Pyrrha Nikos will learn in her tenure here?"

She didn't have an answer to that, though that wasn't the same as there not being any. Pyrrha would learn how to function as a cohesive unit, working as a true team rather than as allies. However, he didn't mention it as it would only weaken his argument.

Much like the cameras, he couldn't give the true reason, but she wouldn't simply accept that. He needed _some _explanation, however flawed it really was.

And thus, when she eventually nodded to concede the point, Ozpin simply waved her out. "Have a good night, Miss Schnee." Someone had to, since this paperwork wasn't going to finish itself.

She said some farewell back, but he ignored it, already browsing through a food order for the next month.

* * *

**This... Took a lot longer than I expected. Putting all of Initiation into one chapter seemed like such a good idea at the time, too. Lesson learned, I guess.**

**So yes; Jaune is on his team, Ozpin is being Ozpin, and absolutely nothing was truly solved. Brilliant.**

* * *

**As I was writing this, I got into a bit of a spat with someone online. According to him, the statements 'god cannot lie' and 'god created and maintains a lie' can both be true at the same time.**

**On a purely semantic level, I'm curious what you think. If someone invents a lie through another, and then maintains it themselves, did they actually lie?**


	4. The Mind And Soul

**I'm going to be involving the actual classes themselves a lot more into this fic than the series itself ever did. Jaune isn't dumb, but he is uninformed, so learning everything with him seems like a great way to do some worldbuilding.**

**Since this is a proper AU- that I actually planned in full ahead of time- that's gonna be needed more than the original Excalibrrr. I'll do my best to keep them interesting, but that does still mean info dumping will exist.**

**Diagetic or not, some people don't enjoy those, and if you don't, I'll include a little warning in each chapter with one. Just gotta read the Author Notes.**

**Regardless, I hope you have fun as much fun reading this as I did writing it.**

* * *

Strange as it was, given his tenuous position and present lack of qualifications to attend the school in the first place, his first thought upon sitting down for his first class was a complaint.

The seats in Port's class were _not _comfortable.

Sure, they looked just fine, but the flat wood and lack of cushioned back support annoyed him. Worse, the edge was a straight ninety degrees, leaving him to keep his legs forward a bit. Why was that a problem? Because someone designed the seat itself to have almost two feet from edge to back.

Someone better have been fired over this. It was such a bizarre thing to screw up, too.

Whatever. They were only stuck in here for fifty minutes- he could live with crappy furniture for that long.

Much more importantly, they didn't have any combat classes today. From the schedule he'd been sent last night, their first one would be Friday, with them occurring every other weekday thereafter. That gave him a little under four days to get into Vale and get his Aura unlocked.

That was, assuming nothing went wrong. Clearly he wouldn't be planning on that, and would try and get into Vale as soon as possible. Weiss was... More tolerant of him, but he doubted asking her to do it would be a good idea. Anyone else... Letting them know he forged his way in sounded equally poor.

He just needed to meet the guy who made his fake transcripts. Even if he couldn't do it, surely he knew someone who could?

Thinking back on the schedule, evenings were largely free without those combat classes. While the team would probably need him today, making arrangements and plans for the future, he might be able to get away tomorrow.

Rough plan complete, Jaune finally returned his attention to the class itself. Professor Port hadn't arrived yet, but then they were here early. Weiss had insisted on it, and he didn't even disagree.

He was here to learn- and he'd prove that to both her and himself, whatever it took.

Which is why his eyes snapped to the door the moment it opened.

"Demons," a booming voice sounded as its owner strode purposefully into the room. "Monsters; creatures of the night. The Grimm go by many names, but you know what I call them?" The man smiled, his mustache raising as if it could too. "I call them _prey._"

The old man didn't look too impressive- with neither the body or equipment of a huntsman- but his dramatic approach certainly had their attention. Jaune found himself hanging on every word as he ran through a summary of what the Grimm were and their role in society.

It was information he already knew, but less than a minute into it, he already brought up something interesting.

"As you know, Grimm grow more intelligent with age. However, that's not just an accumulation of memories and experience. Grimm in the wild, that never so much as encounter a human, can still learn." Port's mustache twitched, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lip. "I happen to have encountered many such beasts venturing into the Grimmlands. One such beasty, a Boarbatusk so overgrown its tusks curved back in on itself, led me back into its lair where its brethren had prepared an ambush."

_Grimm have lairs? _He knew Nevermore took up roosts, since his Father had a picture of him standing inside of one posted on the wall in their hallway, but it's not like they really needed it. Grimm never tired or required food, though they still slept and ate, so maybe it was like that? Animal instinct?

Or maybe it was something else entirely. As Jaune lent half an ear to Port's tale of battling off a dozen Grimm with only the blade of his ax, he thought of something altogether different.

What if Grimm followed the path of least resistance? For something that could fly, taking the highest position and simply gliding down when it sensed something... Land-bound Grimm would have it harder, but then weren't most caves downhill? If they took them over because it was simply easiest to move downward, and then stayed since it was easy to defend, wouldn't they have just as simple a time?

Maybe he'd talk to one of the professors about it later. He doubted he was the first to think of it, so maybe someone had already done research on that? Grimm behavior was hard to study for obvious reasons, but not impossible.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Jaune looked back up to the teacher who seemed to be wrapping up his story.

"Then- after patching myself back up with some dried grass for bandages- I hiked my way back to shore, got back in the S.S. Must-Ash, and rowed the dingy all the way back to Vale."

Wow... _If _that was true, he must have been quite the huntsman in his day. The Grimmlands were largely unexplored for a reason, a baker's dozen people had ever returned.

"Now," Port began, scanning the crowd with his hidden eyes. "Who among you thinks you could live up to my example?"

_Not me?_ Jaune was confident he'd _become _a huntsman, but like him? _In his prime, _he noted, reminding himself that the man before him had largely retired- made evident by his considerable waistline.

However, not everyone was as complacent as him. Weiss raised her hand beside him.

Far more extreme, Nora stood up and shouted "ME!"

Guess who Port called down.

"Ah, Miss Valkyrie! I see we have a true huntsman among us, eh?" He waved for her to stand by him. She... did, though Jaune imagined he hadn't meant for her to leap the whole distance to the stage. Still, if he was surprised, it didn't show. "If you could direct your attention to this cage, I have a surprise for you."

Jaune blinked, turning just to the left to where the cage had been all class. Were... Were they expected not to notice that? Or the red eyes glaring at them from within it for the last ten minutes? _The surprise is probably WHAT the thing is. A rarer Grimm?_

He blinked again.

_Hey, wait- I thought you couldn't capture Grimm!? How did he even get that in here!?_

Whatever he'd told Nora, Jaune missed it, and the girl was running out of the room with a broad smile before he could even think to ask. Thankfully, he didn't have to, since it was pretty obvious why she'd gone.

She'd be fighting whatever it was.

A few minutes later, the orange-haired girl burst through the door with her warhammer already in hand. He'd seen it in Initiation, but not in action- unless seeing her fly through the sky at the start counted. He didn't count it.

Port quickly checked that Nora was ready- she was- before pulling his own weapon up above his head. In a single heavy cleave, he shattered one side of the cage, unleashing the terror within.

A tusked Grimm he didn't recognize shot out in a blur- straight towards Nora. While its flesh was black, the streak of light it left was white- colored so by the armor coating its almost its entire body. It would have weakpoints, but he obviously couldn't pick them out. Maybe go for the eyes?

Nora opted for the simple approach. The instant it was in range, she smashed the tip of her hammer into its jaw. The impact shattered through its bone plating, killing it instantly while launching its corpse back into the cage with a sickening crunch.

Jaune tried to ignore the way the bars on the opposite end bent outwards; tried being the operative word.

"How..."

Surprisingly, it wasn't _him _who muttered that in disbelief, but instead Weiss. Just like him, she seemed in awe, though notably far less.

"Good question, Miss Schnee!" Port shouted, bringing the focus of the class back onto him. "I'm afraid we do not have a class focused on training methods and Aura here, since you are expected to learn those at preparatory schools or from your trainers. However, you will always be free to ask about them here. Now- does anyone here know how Nora got that strong?"

It was that big guy with the armor who answered, and taking a look at his build, it was probably from experience. "Aura speeds up the healing process, allowing you to recover from muscle fatigue as it happens. Since that's how muscles grow, you can get stronger exponentially."

"Thank you, Mr. Winchester, but I don't actually believe that's what happened here." 'Winchester' frowned and sat back down at his desk. Port, meanwhile, turned back to Nora. "As you can plainly see, she isn't particularly large, and such feats would be impossible with her muscle mass alone. Care to explain?"

She nodded. "I'm strong enough to comfortable swing around Magnhild-" to emphasize the point, she flexed both arms, "but _that _was an Aura technique. It's... A little complicated, to be honest, but it's similar in vein to how people burn Aura to increase their speed."

Many more people seemed to know about that one, with both Blake and Yang nodding along. Strangely, Weiss didn't look to know that one either.

That was good... It meant he would have a good excuse to ask someone to teach him.

"Please take your seat, Nora." She nodded, slinging her warhammer over her back with ease before walking off the stage. "If you want more than that, go to the infirmary. Tsune is the resident expert on Aura here at Beacon, and I'm sure she'd enjoy a few... _Lucky _visitors this early in the year."

Okay... That phrasing was odd, but it still seemed like a great idea. He'd still need to get it awakened, but he had more than enough time to spend with the nurse. Really, what's the worst that could happen with a healer on standby?

"While we're on the subject of Aura, we need to briefly talk about semblances. Normally this would be covered by Oobleck, but apparently some of you are ahead enough not to need his classes." Port raised a sheet of paper, though it was clear from the way he quickly set it down that they weren't supposed to see it now. "Quite a few of you don't have your semblance yet, but you will need to get it registered once you get it. You'll find them in Ozpin's office, by the elevator, or you can request one from any of the teachers."

He paused, letting that sink in for a moment, before glancing to the clock. Jaune checked it too, finding that class wasn't quite over.

Port didn't care, waving them off with a wide grin. "See you all tomorrow!"

Jaune returned the smile with his own, gathering the textbook and notes he hadn't so much as opened. If this was what classes were like, maybe coming here wouldn't be hard at all.

It was when Jaune was at the door that he noticed someone at Port's desk- Cardin. Not by choice, if his frown was anything to go from. Jaune stepped out, but leaned against the wall to listen in. Was he in trouble?

"... your Aura off during class. It's distracting."

Cardin left his Aura active? He hadn't noticed... Maybe you needed yours awakened to notice, or it was some kind of skill you needed to learn.

Wait... Could they sense if you didn't have one? Even deactivated, your Aura had a physical presence...

Jaune shook his head, banishing the thought. If they could do that, they'd have noticed, and that fact didn't change his plans any. As he walked back to his dorm, Jaune fiddled with his scroll, sending a quick message to his 'Uncle'.

The reply was almost immediate, though it was suitably short.

_Same place, six o'clock- get me a latte, yeah?_

_-Roman_


	5. Lighting The Torch

**Jeez. I got two jobs when I wanted one, but I couldn't in good concience deny either of them. The workload is managable, but leaves me little time to really write this.**

**I'm now a Demo Tech for Universal Access, a Kirby distributor. Not the most glamorous job, but I already earned over a thousand dollars in a week, and that's right out of training. **

**As for the other, I am the choreographer and scene writer for an animated TV show in the works. Thankfully, I'm not in charge of dialogue, and have a number of other writers on hand to beta my work. The first trailer (It's getting four, like RWBY) is already going to animation and should hopefully be live soon. Of course, there's a decent chunk of work before that, but... **

**Well, I really want to say the full introduction because of just what the company name became.  
**

**Fickle Things presents 'Legacies Season One - Trial By Fire'~!**

**That's right. Fickle Things isn't just a book series anymore- it's a studio. Guess you could say it's a... Fickle thing.**

* * *

"I'm heading out."

Jaune looked up from his scroll, finding Yang already at the door to their dorm. He just kind of looked on for a moment, but nobody else bothered to question her. At a guess, Weiss didn't care and Blake was too busy reading in the corner. "Where are you going?"

"A few friends from Signal are having a party- figured I'd go celebrate with them." Yang waved back to them as she slipped out. "Later!"

_Huh, she makes it look easy._

If he were going to a party, he'd have probably been a little less blase about it, but he wasn't. The clock on the wall ticked 4:00, and he was still no closer to creating an excuse for his absence. It needed to be believable, and something they either couldn't or wouldn't want to check in on.

Wait...

Jaune turned back to the message on his scroll, still open before him. He couldn't exactly 'remember' an appointment now, but if he were to be invited to a new one?

He fired off another quick text to Roman and waited.

It wasn't instant and wasn't even from the same scroll, but that worked all the better. Jaune feigned surprise as the notification arrived, and spent a moment actually reading what Roman sent back.

_Congrats, kid! I knew you could get in. Come to Vale- we'll have a celebration!_

_-Krill_

"Crap- I gotta go too," Jaune 'sadly' announced as he rose to his feet. He turned the scroll towards Weiss and Blake, even if neither of them were close enough to actually read the message. "I'll be back soon- probably before Yang."

Weiss waved him off as she continued perusing some article on _her _scroll, meanwhile Blake barely glanced his way.

...

Okay- that was hugely unnecessary. Maybe this whole 'meeting Roman' thing wouldn't be as hard as he thought?

Jaune slid out into the hall and made his way to the bullhead docks.

As the only way to and from Beacon, unless you wanted to go mountain climbing, it was manned more or less all day. It was only mid-afternoon, so he arrived to find it a hub of activity shuttling people and supplies to and from Vale.

Checking with a routing map off to one side, Jaune lept up into one of the vehicles and awaited takeoff.

And a minute later, Jaune was tactfully reminded of exactly why he hated these things.

* * *

A bell jingled as Jaune stepped into the pawnshop. The guard, 'cause what else would the suited man behind the counter be, looked up at him.

"I'm here to see my uncle. Is he in?"

The man grunted in reply, neither disagreement nor assent.

_Ugh... _"Look, is Roman here or not?" He still seemed a little out of it, but the guard popped open the door to his left and gestured inside. Jaune nodded to him as he stepped past, taking the stairs on the other side.

It cut off a little over a dozen steps down, opening up into a large living area filled with couches, a pair of fridges, and myriad other appliances. Atop one such couch, Roman lounged, though he sat up the moment Jaune entered the room.

"Hey, kid; see you brought me that coffee." He waved him over, stealing the drink from his hand and taking a few quick sips.

Jaune just sat opposite him, giving the room a quick onceover. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but then Roman wouldn't want to show him what he actually got up to. He wouldn't have gotten as far as he did if he was _that _stupid. "I'm here," Jaune said, more to remind Roman than anything else.

"I know," he replied, relaxing back into the couch. "It's morning for me- give me a second. Why do you think I asked you to get me a latte?"

He shrugged, letting himself lean back in his seat. Credit where credit was due, the sofa far surpassed anything he'd seen in Beacon. A shame he couldn't bring it with him... "How much did this cost?"

"More than you'd make in your life," Roman replied easily, though he pointed a finger at him threateningly. "Ruin it, and I take it from your hide."

_Okay... _Jaune raised his hands to concede the point, though he notably didn't peel himself off the cushions. He'd take whatever comfort he could, given the training he'd be going through once this was over. Catching up would be difficult, and he damn well knew it.

It was while he was lazing there that he noticed someone else enter the room. She was shorter than him- hell, shorter than Ruby and Weiss- though her adult proportions cast doubt on her being a kid. Oddly, that was the _least _interesting thing about her appearance since her hair, clothes, and even eyes were split between shades of pink, dark brown, and some kind of white. Cream, maybe? Would certainly fit her theme.

Roman barely seemed to acknowledge her presence, so he clearly knew who she was. A colleague?

Jaune turned away before he could think more about it. The less he knew of criminals and their dealings the better.

"Okay-" Roman said, after a little more waiting. "Before I do this, what happened to your original plan? You had one, right?"

"I... Miscalculated," Jaune admitted, scratching at his neck. "I'm gonna need it sooner than expected, and it's too late to both keep the secret and get it from one of them."

Roman nodded slowly, his eyes looking off in thought. "To be honest, kid," he sighed, leaning forward in his seat. "That is much better than I'd expected. You seemed too naive over the scroll- malleable and weak-willed."

_Ouch... _Jaune kept his displeasure from his face, through Roman chuckled anyway so he probably saw through him. "Come on, man. I might not have experience here, but I'm smart. Analytical, at least."

"Analytical, huh?" The way he said that just oozed sarcasm, but the smirk on his face made it clear it was all in good fun. Not that such stopped Jaune from glaring daggers at him. If anything, that made his smile widen, and he eventually rolled his eyes in concession. "Fine, fine, I'll believe you. But, just for fun, I've got a little test for you."

Jaune narrowed his gaze on instinct, not liking where that was going. Roman was a criminal... What kind of test would he have him do?

"Relax, kid, I'm not dragging you into anything. Just answer a few questions for me." Okay, that was reasonable. A test of his memory or riddle-solving? "Was the girl who just walked past you wearing boots or shoes?"

"Boots," Jaune answered easily, remembering the way they reached almost half the way up her leggings.

He nodded back. "Just as simple a question- what colors was the goon above wearing?"

Uh... "Black suit and hat... Red trim and tie?"

Roman smiled, a silent laugh escaping his lips as he fell back in his chair. "That's right, kid. In Ozpin's world, I'm sure you'd go far."

Really? Just from observing and remembering something from a minute or two ago? "Why is that, exactly?"

"Because you just gave away information to the first authority you ran into," he answered, not even bothering to look in his direction. "You'd be easy to train, easy to teach, easy to use, and easy to dispose of when the job's done- just as he likes it."

Wh-what? How could he even get away with something like that? One of the cops in Ansel had tried to extort some food from a market and been deposed in two days- surely Ozpin couldn't literally throw people's lives away like that. Who would support that kind of waste, especially among huntsmen who could probably beat him on their own!? His history spoke for itself, but he was also nearing a hundred. Aura was good, but not _that _good.

No... Even if he trusted Roman, which he didn't have any good reasons to, there had to be more to it.

As though reading his thoughts, Roman raised his hands to placate him. "I don't expect you to believe me now, but you need to be more shrewd with things. Knowledge is power, and knowledge given freely is power given freely."

Jaune found himself nodding to that, but... "And what about this lesson, and the rest of your help? Why would you give it away freely?"

Roman's smirk grew into a shit-eating grin. "Nice catch kid- you weren't kidding earlier- but I'm gonna have to save that answer for another time. You need your Aura, and it's one or the other. Take your pick."

That wasn't a choice, and the smug prick knew it. Knowing what Roman got out of this would be nice, but he'd be kicked out or killed in days without his Aura. Either way, the information would mean absolutely nothing.

With the most put-upon sigh he could muster, Jaune made the obvious choice. "Aura."

The thief shuffled over slightly, gesturing him over. Jaune begrudgingly complied, walking over and kneeling beside the man he owed his career to. "Give me your hand."

Jaune did, and what followed would be forever etched into his memory. There was a moment of awkwardness as Roman clasped his hand and did nothing, seemingly trying to remember something from a long while back. He eventually got it, closing his eyes and lifting their hands slightly higher as he began to intone.

"For it is in infamy that we achieve immortality. Through your will, all the doors of the world open and the laws of nature or men grant you passage." As he spoke, Roman's skin began to glow an incandescent orange. It flowed across his arms, crossing over onto Jaune's hand and coating it instead. It was warm, like a campfire, and the way it shuttered and flowed seemed to directly mirror that imagery. "To make right the wrongs of the past, I awaken your soul, and by my power free you."

The moment passed, the heat in his hand slowly fading away, but something lingered behind. It was an odd sensation, as though his hands had suddenly grown stiff, and it slowly moved up his arm. It wasn't limiting, and he found his fingers weren't actually stiff when he flexed them.

When it reached his chest, though, it abruptly changed. The same glow that had shone over Roman, but painted a brilliant white, came to life even atop his clothing. It was bright, too bright to stare directly into, but quickly dimmed as his Aura settled inside him.

And that was what it was... He had never seen Nicholas' Aura since the man had never needed to manifest it, but he had described in the past what it was like.

The rush of power, warmth, and feeling of invincibility currently running through him? That was _exactly _as he described, and it was _amazing. _

Jaune just looked down on himself, marveling at all the little scratches and cuticle tears across his entire body vanishing. The lingering bruise from Yang smacking his back the first day or his unfortunate landing in Initiation? Both gone in seconds.

This was how every huntsman felt all the time... Why didn't they do this for everyone? So many problems would be solved instantly if they awakened Auras at the same time they gave vaccines.

Jaune was about to ask Roman about that when he finally looked back at the flamboyant criminal. He'd seemingly deflated, his head leaning back on the chair as he relaxed completely into it. "Roman?"

"Just catching my breath, kid-" he said, waving a hand over himself as he finally sat up. Weiss _had _said it exhausted someone to do that... "Jeez, kid- you're Aura is huge. What did your parents feed you?"

He glanced down at his hoodie, though the Pumpkin Peat logo was thankfully covered by his chestplate. Wisely, Jaune avoided mentioning it and simply shrugged instead.

"Okay, looks like I'm not gonna be teaching you to use that. I gotta be ready for tonight." Roman noticed his pensive expression and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it, kid- you can rest assured my plans are dastardly evil and all that."

Somehow, that wasn't reassuring. Still, Jaune let it go, not really wanting to hear about his activities anyway. "So I just go to my team for training, or...?"

He didn't get to finish, as the diminutive girl from earlier seemed to just appear in the space directly in front of him. He'd migrated back to the sofa, dragging his head down to her level, and the way she used that to stare into his eyes left him anything but comfortable.

"Or she'll do it," Roman finished for him. "Trust me, kid, she'll do a much better job than any of those panzy students you'll be with anyway."

Jaune nodded, resolving himself to the training the pair could offer. They didn't care about him, but that would just make it all the more intense and effective.

And so Jaune started his path to greatness by catching the little girls heel to the face.

* * *

**This took _FAR _too long to get out.**

**Sorry about that. I've started using my downtime at work to write this, while my time at home is dedicated to the show. That should thankfully make the schedule for this a little more consistent.**

**As a bonus, here's a preview of the next chapter, 'Steel Wall'. I'm literally working on the chapter right now, and the preview will simply be whatever I manage to put out before I fall asleep at my desk.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Jaune slumped back against the edge of the arena, his entire body completely spent. Training with Weiss wasn't nearly as painful as it had been with the tiny terror Roman sicced on him, but that didn't make it any easier.

Actually, because he was burning minimal Aura to recover or defend from damage, training was _more _grueling. They'd been at this for over two hours, and Jaune could only pant as she finally called the session.

His head lolled back against the wall, conveniently giving him a view of the Aura meters above. He showed a comfortable 18%, which was still within the margin of error, while Weiss was actually lower. She'd gone below 15% right near the end, simply because she used Aura both to move and use Dust or her Glyphs.

She hadn't cast any of the latter on him since she'd admitted he would just instantly lose at that point, but still... Wow. If she wasn't pulling her punches, she'd have creamed him in the opening minutes.

Still, Roman had not been kidding about the size of his Aura. He and Weiss had actually done a comparison earlier, and he easily had four or five times as much as her. She'd admitted than that hers was annoyingly small, but not to that extent, and that his was on par with some of the greatest.

Of course, he'd still need to master _using _the sodding thing before he reached that status.

Roman had been kind enough to lecture him a bit on Aura while Neo kicked his ass, so he understood enough about it to begin truly learning.

_"Aura isn't just a catch-all. The passive portion is weak, allowing significant strikes to pass through with ease. You have to gather it- focus it- or else you'll be dead long before it runs out. It heals you, but not nearly fast enough to recover before an experienced opponent takes advantage and kills you."_

How kind of him to mention it a few minutes in after she'd already used her stilleto's as spikes a few hundred times.

Weiss didn't lecture him on anything- actively refused to, actually- but was willing to spar with him when she'd asked. As he could see from her own heavy breathing, even though the fight was hardly difficult technically, she lacked stamina. If nothing else, he had that in spades.

Jaune glances to Crocea Mors- the blade, specifically- currently abandoned in the middle of the arena. It had become clear _very _quickly that he wasn't hitting her. Even ignoring his complete lack of skill, she was just too fast for the longsword to make contact. Since it worked for the both of them, they'd agreed to focus on defense instead, and had transitioned entirely to his shield.

Overall, not a bad use of his Wednesday.

"Same time tomorrow?" Jaune called a minute later when the burning in his lungs had finally passed. "Figure we should get as much training in before Friday as possible."

Weiss shook her head,

* * *

**Me sleep.**


	6. Steel Wall

**It has come to my attention that Lighting The Torch was remarkably similar to a scene from Professor Arc. I have read the story several times now and realized it the moment it was mentioned, but this was not a deliberate act on my part.**

**As I said to him, I'm not going to go back and change it. The current version fits just fine, wasn't a conscious act of plagiarism, and doesn't even lead down the same roads Professor Arc did.**

**Funnily enough, I actually drew inspiration from the scene from my far more recent reread of Professor Arc: Student of Vacuo by Katkiller-V, which I recommend completely. It's not done but stops just before the Grimm/White Fang invasion of Amity and Beacon, so it's more than enough for anyone who wants to go through a well-plotted grittier version of Professor Arc.**

**I'll try and avoid such things in the future, but the fact is that I've read so many RWBY fics multiple times. The unfortunate truth is that there's bound to be scenes that stick in my head long after I read them and directly lead to the creation of my own. That's just how memory works.**

* * *

**Completely unrelated to the above, we found out the name Legacies is currently taken by a currently airing TV show. It's not popular, and they can't trademark the name or sue us over it, but I'd rather just avoid the hassle altogether. Thankfully, they agreed with me, so the name is temporarily set as Inheritance. It may be subject to further change.**

* * *

Jaune slumped back against the edge of the arena, his entire body completely spent. Training with Weiss wasn't nearly as painful as it had been with the tiny terror Roman sicced on him, but that didn't make it any easier.

Actually, because he was burning minimal Aura to recover or defend from damage, training was _more _grueling. They'd been at this for over two hours, and Jaune could only pant as she finally called the session.

His head lolled back against the wall, conveniently giving him a view of the Aura meters above. He showed a comfortable 18%, which was still within the margin of error, while Weiss was slightly lower. She'd gone below 15% right near the end, simply because she used Aura both to move and use Dust or her Glyphs.

She hadn't cast any of the latter on him since she'd admitted he would just instantly lose at that point, but still... Wow. If she wasn't pulling her punches, she'd have creamed him in the opening minutes.

Still, Roman had not been kidding about the size of his Aura. He and Weiss had done a comparison earlier, and he easily had four or five times as much as her. She'd admitted than that hers was annoyingly small, but not to that extent, and that his must be on par with some of the greatest.

Of course, he'd still need to master _using _the sodding thing before he reached that status.

Roman had been kind enough to lecture him a bit on Aura while Neo kicked his ass, so he understood enough about it to begin truly learning.

_"Aura isn't just a catch-all. The passive portion is weak, allowing significant strikes to pass through with ease. You have to gather it- focus it- or else you'll be dead long before it runs out. It heals you, but not nearly fast enough to recover before an experienced opponent takes advantage and kills you."_

How kind of him to mention it a few minutes in after she'd already used her stiletto's as spikes a few hundred times.

Weiss didn't lecture him on anything- actively refused to, actually- but was willing to spar with him when she'd asked. As he could clearly see from her heavy breathing, even though the fight was hardly difficult technically, she lacked stamina. If nothing else, he had that in spades.

Jaune glances to Crocea Mors- the blade, specifically- currently abandoned in the middle of the arena. It had become clear _very _quickly that he wasn't hitting her. Even ignoring his complete lack of skill, she was just too fast for the longsword to make contact. Since it worked for the both of them, they'd agreed to focus on defense instead, and had transitioned entirely to his shield.

Overall, not a bad use of his Wednesday.

"Same time tomorrow?" Jaune called a minute later when the burning in his lungs had finally passed. "Figure we should get as much training in before Friday as possible."

Weiss shook her head. "Bad idea."

"Huh?"

Myrte-something tapped his shoulder, nudging him backward. "Overtraining is as big an issue as under. You want to be in peak shape for class if you want to have even the slightest chance of matching one of us."

Fair enough, he guessed. She knew he was fresh to this whole thing, even if not the whole extent of it. Focusing on his defense helped hide his lack of skill too. However... "I thought Aura dealt with muscle fatigue. Cardin said so in Port's class, didn't he?"

Weiss sighed, looking away, before adopting a lecturing tone. "He's not entirely wrong, but that's not the same thing as being right. Aura heals us, meaning the muscles themselves recover rather quickly. However, lactic acid builds up within the muscles when you exercise them, and Aura can't deal with that in the same way."

Huh. "Wouldn't he have noticed the difference, then? That sounds rather important."

"You can train to resist lactic acid buildup," she said, waving his point away with one hand. "Given his family, they probably started that training before he can even remember, so he might not even know what it feels like to overtrain."

"Would I be able to do that?" Jaune asked, suddenly hopeful. If he could train entire days away, he could definitely catch up with the rest of his team. Yang had only done a few hours of conditioning over the last few days, and Blake didn't even do that much.

That dream was dashed as Weiss turned on him with a frown. "Regrettably, no. It takes months to acclimate to the acid buildup, and that would take time away from our current training. Your conditioning is... Fine, more or less. It's your skills that need work."

The opposite was likely true for her, but then chipping her way through his Aura was quite the workout. In an actual fight, if she still only used her glyphs on herself, he might actually beat her.

Of course, he'd seen just how much of a one-sided massacre this could have been from the word go. His balance and recovery were utterly pedestrian, so being flung across the floor or into the sky at the speeds she could manage... Well, the price to her own Aura would be negligible by comparison.

"What should I do, then?" he asked, having no idea himself. He was new to Vale as a whole, had no friends outside Beacon, and he already knew he had no interest in the party Nora was 'planning' for Thursday night.

"How would I know?" she returned, padding out of the arena. "You're the one in over your head."

_How very helpful... _Sure, that statement was totally unfair, but it's not like she couldn't have given a nothing-answer instead. How hard is 'just relax' or some other nonsense to say? Granted, he wanted a better answer than that, but he'd have totally accepted it.

Whatever. Their relationship was bound to be frosty until he could prove himself among the other first years. Until then... Well, there was always Yang.

Speaking of which, maybe he could ask Yang to spar with him soon. He still had negative idea where he stood among the rest of the class, though he could guess it was fairly low, the same was true of Yang. She had friends from Signal, so she at least passed a preparatory school, but where did that put her?

Hm... Probably best to wait on that request until he knew better. Weiss was strong but strong in a way he could potentially play around thanks to his shield. He hadn't even _seen _Yang's weapon yet since they hadn't fought anything after meeting up in initiation.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen a sheathe either. He'd seen one on Blake, but not Yang...

Oh boy, yet more to learn about. It was a school, after all.

And hey- he at least had tomorrow all to himself.

* * *

Turns out, Weiss was completely correct when she talked about overtraining. How, you might ask? Well... He felt like crap through all of Thursday.

Not a huge surprise, since he'd been fighting (read: getting creamed) by Neo and Weiss since Monday evening, but it was strange how long that took to finally set in. It wasn't the same as being sore, since his muscles themselves were perfectly fine, but rather a sensation like physical exhaustion- just without any mental exhaustion to go along with it.

And so he had barely moved, occupying his time by watching videos on his scroll and- when he was alone between classes- stealing one of the books off the shelves. They were entirely from Weiss and Blake, with neither he nor Yang bringing any, and he had to guess that 'Taking Up The Mantle' was from Weiss.

It wasn't bad, from the fifty or so pages he could bother to read, but it was dry, and he'd returned to the videos soon enough.

Soon enough, it had been time to sleep, and a whole eight hours later here he was.

On the floor for some reason.

Pale blue eyes stared down into his own, and while some part of his sleep-addled mind recognized them, the rest just didn't get the message. "Bwah?" he eloquently inquired.

"I said it's six-thirty; you were supposed to be up half an hour ago!"

Jaune slowly stirred, blinking the haze from his eyes and finally recognizing the stern expression of Weiss' face. Sorry- on Weiss' face, lest she be able to read minds. "For what...?"

Weiss didn't answer, instead huffing as she strolled directly out of the dorm room to... Somewhere.

Sitting up from his spot on the floor, Jaune did a quick pan of the room. He was lying next to his bed, Blake was reading atop her own, and Yang was conspicuously absent. Jaune looked at Blake, and she answered his unspoken question.

"She tried to wake you up at six. She kept trying until you stayed down when she threw you from the bed." Blake turned the page in her novel, not bothering to so much as glance his way. "Yang suggested throwing you in the shower, so I recommend finding an alarm that works."

Jaune nodded in thanks, and while she couldn't see it, he felt she understood regardless. Still, why wouldn't that wake him up? He could sleep through a lot- living in a household of ten people tended to do that to you- but moving _him _was always enough.

He sighed, dismissing it for now. He didn't know enough about exhaustion or Aura to say it wasn't either of those and if it didn't keep repeating itself, maybe it wouldn't matter in the long run.

As an aside, he felt great. There was still a little lingering lethargy, but that would pass when he actually got up. Good thing, too, since he needed to be prepared for-

"Combat class!"

Off in the corner of the room, Blake smiled as Jaune scurried about the room gathering his stuff. There wasn't much, all told, but his panicking mind made him run through everything he owned at least twice.

By the time he was prepared, it was already 6:40, leaving him twenty minutes to get food and get to class. Thankfully, they had Port for an hour before combat class, but that was hardly a relief. He seemed oblivious, sure, but there had to be cunning in his eyes for him to have survived that long as a huntsman. Being late to class didn't result in punishment, but rather a sense of unease throughout the entire class as if he was watching you.

Worse, because his eyes were entirely covered by his eyebrows, there was literally no way to tell if he literally was.

Jaune shuddered just remembering their Tuesday morning. His exhaustion was effectively his fault since he could have simply left Roman and Neo at any time, but the fact that none of the rest of them had told him where they were going? _That _was their fault.

Besides which, why were classes so bloody early!? He woke up early- exhaustion notwithstanding- but he was an oddity. Weiss drank coffee, Yang took half-hour showers, and Blake did... Whatever Blake did just to get to wake up for classes on time. Most were worse off than that.

Hell, even initiation had waited until eleven.

All of that combined to leave Jaune simply tapping at his desk, ignoring the pangs of hunger he was currently going through. The class had technically started a minute prior, but Port just loved his dramatic entrances.

Sure enough, two minutes after the bell, the door to the classroom blasted open and the rotund figure charged headlong into the room. He was armed, which was a bad sign.

"I've got a treat for you all!" Port announced, not at all reassuring Jaune. His last treat had been a Grimm, and while they'd clearly not been in any real danger, he'd hardly bring in something that pathetic in again. "Some of you will get to fight today!"

_Some, not all. Odd... _Not suspicious, but something to be aware of. Was it a larger Grimm? An Ursa, perhaps? There wasn't a cage in the room like last time, so it would have to be in the Emerald Forest for that. Hm...

"Would four challengers please come join me down here."

His words brought a stir, particularly among the more competitive teams. The whole social sphere for a huntsman in training seemed to be based around strength, or so Yang had told him, and the lack of fighting between teams had so far left them... Confused seemed like the best word. Uncertain, perhaps? Ironically, knowing he was near the bottom if not at it made this whole situation all the easier for him.

Jaune pointedly didn't raise his hand, and while Yang did, the request hadn't been for a _team._

"Nora Valkyrie, Yang Xiao Long, Knova Castinae, and Denada Dios- thank you for volunteering. If you would join me on stage for a moment." While less... Enthusiastic than Nora had been the first time, they all rushed to the stage pretty quickly. Port lined them up on stage. "Introducing team DKNY, or Dark Knight!"

The four members of it gave various signs of cheer. Nora threw her Warhammer into the air, Yang pumped a fist, Knova simply smiled, and Denada did the same. However... In the latter case, the smile was more vicious than reassuring. The all-girl team had at least one obvious faunus, and it seems Denada caught the short end of the genetic stick. Her mouth- no, her _maw- _was lined with sharpened fangs and viscious grey drool peeked through her teeth when she grinned.

Oum, was that terrifying. Worse, only two people in the room even seemed to react to it. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the girl, not an unreasonable response, and Cardin visibly tensed as if threatened. Did they have a history? Oum- what if they had a _romantic _history!?

No, no, he was just overthinking this. Horrifying as the imagery was, such things were entirely conjecture.

What felt like a minute later, but was probably only a few seconds, Port got their attention back on him. Thankfully, that also go Denada to close her mouth, hiding her teeth from view. "I mentioned a treat, and I'm sure you'll love this one." They watched him, expectation clear on his face. "You will not be fighting in Miss Goodwitch's class."

All at once, they deflated- all the energy and excitement they'd been building over the past minute gone as the four seemingly slumped in place.

"Oh, don't be like that! You girls get to do something _much _better." Port raised his blunderbuss-ax over his head before lowering the barrel on them. "You get to fight _me._"

They didn't quite react to the gunshot.

* * *

Yang flared her Aura, taking the brunt of the blast from Port's shotgun. It was clearly an old-style, one that had a widespread of shrapnel, but that only made it more dangerous. He barely needed to aim the damn thing.

Ember Celica transformed with a flick of her hands, and that was the longest setup of their makeshift team. Denada and Nora simply rushed forward without their weapons- granted, not everyone's could transform into fashionable bracelets- while Knova took a second to…

It was hard to describe, really. She reached out behind her as she lunged forward, dragging a sword from somewhere. Pocket dimension, maybe?

Either way, within a second of being hit by the buckshot, all four of them were closing the distance on Port.

Yang surged forward but was still last into the melee.

Nora was first, and it became _very_ clear the girl wasn't used to being without a weapon. She was strong but lacked any kind of style or finesse. Port dealt with her in one attack, capitalizing on a wide opening when Nora swung out.

While his ax was briefly out of position, Denada pounced. This was more successful, but not through any kind of technique. Port bodily caught her on his boot, cracking it against several ribs, and Denada simply ignored the damage and bit down on his leg.

Port frowned slightly, whirling his leg out in the path of Knova. She was smart enough to step back out of range, but that gave him enough time to swing his shotgun back towards them. Worse, Denada lacked a proper grip and was sent flying to connect with Nora.

Yang ducked right, dodging the blast that knocked Knova back a step, and finally closed into melee. With his weapon occupied, Port was left on the defensive, leaving Yang in her element.

Not that it mattered. Yang threw a punch center of mass, and Port simply took the blow on his Aura and used the momentum to skid back several feet and out of her range.

_What is he…?_

The fight had only been going for five whole seconds, but they'd all taken a blow or two from Port, while he looked unfazed.

"I'm impressed," their teacher interrupted, slinging his gun over his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you're doing well. Your use of Aura is laughable, and your teamwork nonexistent."

Yang watched him blankly for a moment, but the universe didn't seem to undo the statement. They'd been a 'team' for mere seconds and none of them had received any literal damage. What was wrong with their Aura?

Gritting her teeth, Yang blew past the others in a burst of flame.

* * *

_Ah, to be young and stupid._ Peter slid his head a few inches to the side, perfectly dodging Yang's strike. Based on the intensity of her glowing hair, that only ticked her off more, and the absolute failure of her followup made it worse.

_Young, stupid, and angry to be exact._ Young Peter had been just as passionate as he was today but had less control. The way he was currently trouncing them would have been an insult to his pride, just as much as it was to them now.

Good.

Peter easily flowed with the pace of the battle, ensuring that Yang was between himself and the other three at all times. Him calling out their teamwork had actually made it worse, with the other three grouping together and becoming stranded outside the fight by their last one.

Not that it changed much. Together they output more damage on him, but they offered him weapons by existing. His blunderbuss was designed for heavily armored Grimm, so using his students as a club was actually better against them.

Growling to herself, Yang tried out a new tactic. Not a bad idea, but her attempt at a kick was just pathetic. Palming an Auric barrier, Peter caught her ankle with ease. By simply reabsorbing the barrier, he didn't even lose anything in the exchange, but he'd definitely profited.

Despite all her strength, Yang was helpless to stop him from heaving her foot up. She didn't get to crash to the ground, though, since he caught her midair by her other leg and spun, throwing her in the direction of the other two fighters.

_Wait… two?_

Peter blinked a few times. Had there only been three? He could remember the team name DKNY, so there had to be a fourth person.

He glanced around, finding that there was a fourth student on stage. He recognized her easily, but couldn't recall bringing her up.

"What-"  
His instincts roared at him to move, and he didn't doubt them for an instant. Throwing himself aside, he narrowly avoided a sword in his back from Knova.

Something was wrong. Was this the result of someone's semblance? It had to be, but whose? He knew Yang, Nora, and Knova's already, but it didn't have to be Denada. Someone in the audience could just as easily be affecting him.

However, he knew of at least one person that age who could pull that off- if by reputation only.

_Guess I'll have to- huh?_

The people on stage had relaxed, and that thought alone gave away why.

He'd lept off the stage, which was technically a ring-out.

"Right- good job. I… Have something I need to speak with Ozpin about." Port made his way to the door, pausing with a hand on the frame. "You're free to go, but I expect all of you to know the names of all the common Grimm in Vale by Monday."

He'd planned to finish the class with a discussion of the fight, but this would work. A simple quiz could be drafted in a few minutes- _after_ he dealt with his own problem.

_And for the love of Oum, she better not be the Demon of Steelwatch._

* * *

_That was... A thing, _Jaune thought as he shuffled into his next class. There'd been time enough to grab food, but he'd been forced to eat it on the way to make it in time. Even then, he still had half a sub in a bag next to him, taunting him with the Mistralean steak and egg breakfast inside.

But that was fine. As long as Miss Goodwitch didn't call him up first he could finish it.

Jaune stared blankly at the professor, waiting for-

"Would Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester please make their way to the arena?"

_Called it._

Abandoning his breakfast at his seat- probably to be stolen by Nora- Jaune made his way up the open arena. It was smaller than the large area set aside in the training rooms, but still easily thirty feet across, leaving him plenty of room to stay as far away from the armored figure joining him as possible.

He'd recognized the name, obviously, but had only seen him in his armor during initiation. It hadn't been nearly as imposing then as it was now, when he had to actually go up against it himself. Cardin was easily as tall as him, and impressive feat given his own lanky figure, but Cardin wasn't nearly as thin. He had broad shoulders and easily double his weight in muscle. Add a full suit of armor into the mix, and the mace he was playfully swinging about as he came up...

Jaune was intimidated, to put it lightly.

His own chestplate and bracers felt like nothing compared to what he had, and a brute force weapon was actually far more effective against people than Grimm. By Port's very own words, 'they don't have vital organs, so blunt force isn't going to do anything to their insides. To kill them, you'd need to put far more force behind it than a blade.'

Cardin's mace was flanged, so it wasn't quite as blunt as it could be, but that didn't change how brutally it would affect him. Aura absorbed total kinetic energy, so heavy objects at high speed burned through it the fastest. That's why they could shrug off bullets but Nora could probably beat him in two or three hits.

"Begin!"

_What-? _Jaune managed, barely getting his shield up in time to block the lateral swing. It barely made a difference, his arm crumbling under the force of the blow. Cardin carried through, plowing Jaune back and leaving him skidding across the floor.

Two seconds in and he'd already lost a good chunk of his Aura. He didn't even need to look at the scoreboard to tell- he could feel it, both in the pain and the rush of adrenaline that suddenly took him. Except, it wasn't adrenaline- it was his Aura flowing in an attempt to keep him alive.

Jaune rolled to the side on instinct, narrowly dodging a downward swing that would have bashed his chest partially through the concrete floor. Even then, the shockwave that erupted from it tore the concrete apart, sending dust and bits of shrapnel in all directions.

Some kind of barrier protected the audience, but he wasn't quite so lucky. Bits of it got in his eyes, blinding him as he staggered to his feet.

Cardin took the next bit slowly, striding forward with a cocky grin. Unfortunately, he wasn't in much of a position to counter that. His mace was actually longer than Crocea Mors, and his armor would deflect anything he tried to send his way... The only really weakness was his head.

The Yellow Death shook in his hand as he tried to rationalize cutting at a dude's head with a lethal weapon. Even knowing the man had Aura didn't make the choice any easier, and before he got to make such a choice, Cardin was upon him once more.

Ducking back slightly to avoid a horizontal swing, Jaune lunged forward and bashed his shield into Cardin's chest. It didn't even phase him, the giant merely taking an extra second to pull his weapon back into another heavy blow.

Jaune prepared to dodge it- block it- anything, and that was a mistake too. While he was distracted with the mace, Cardin simply shot out with his free hand and clocked him in the face.

Briefly stunned, he was unable to get away from the one-handed meteor. It struck with less force than before, but in his disoriented state, his recovery was even worse.

Cardin stepped forward, planting his mace atop Jaune's chest and pressing down on the handle. The force- not to mention the leverage- continually drained his Aura as it tried desperately to protect his rib cage.

And then, with a confident smirk, Cardin lifted his weapon and stepped away.

Jaune stared after him, briefly clutching at his chest as thought to heal the pain still lingering there. Was he taunting him? Holding a lingering hope out before him, only to snuff it out a moment later.

No... He wouldn't play that game. Jaune met Cardin's eyes, defiance present in his, and barked out two words. Not to him, but to Miss Goodwitch. "I surrender."

Adding insult to injury, as he picked himself up off the ground, he glanced up to the scoreboard. Cardin hadn't lost so much as a percent.


	7. Watch And Learn

**The votes have been tallied (there was one...) and we'll be getting the fight from both. It'll start with Yang and turn to Port at the halfway mark.**

**I'll be going back and updating that chapter when the next one comes out. There'll be another note about it there, in case you happen to forget, but don't worry if you're somehow _not _interested in a kickass fight scene. It only has one plot relevant detail, which is how powerful Port is relative to the students. The power scaling in RWBY has never been good, and I want to establish early that even a man long past his prime can kick multiple asses at once.**

**From Wednesday the 4th to Tuesday the 10th I will not be posting anything. However, the entire week I'll be working on writing the show and this without interruption, so expect at least two chapters worth to come out by then, along with Port's fight if it's not out yet.**

**And without further ado, Jaune 'Overthinker' Arc.**

* * *

The next fight was as fast as his own, but that did very little to cheer him up. Why? Because it wasn't that Sky Lark was bad at his craft, or even truly worse than Ruby had been.

He simply had no counter to someone who tripled his speed and could literally tear his Aura to shreds in a single strike.

And even then... Jaune would have done worse. Oh, he'd have lasted longer, but only because his Aura was huge. Sky Lark, however, had actually _hit _Ruby in their fight. Jaune hadn't even attacked his opponent...

Not for the first time, Jaune found his gaze shifting to where Cardin was sitting. The titan was bragging it up with his team, not even paying attention as Ren and someone named Windfall made their way on stage. The former had the dual pistols he'd seen in Initiation, while Windfall had a multi-colored staff Jaune obviously didn't recognize.

They had their weapons drawn, but even when Miss Goodwitch started the match, neither made a move. Unlike the last two rounds, they spent some time circling one another, sizing the other up.

Ren was exactly as he remembered from initiation, Mistralian robes and all. Windfall, meanwhile, was _very _different. He still looked Mistralian, but of a different original culture. Ai-ain, perhaps? He wore bronze armor like Pyrrha, but in a unique style Jaune couldn't really decipher. His weapon was more or less a straight rod, with thick caps over both tops to accentuate any impacts. Most bizzarely, he had a set of neon green headphones over his ears even now, though the music obviously wasn't audible from here. Did he fight in those?

In the end, it was Windfall who broke the stalemate first, lunging forward and using the superior reach of his weapon. Ren didn't bother trying to contest him in melee, breaking out into a sidelong spring as he unleashed a spray of gunfire.

Windfall blocked what he could with his staff, but it wasn't much all told. He hadn't stopped to attempt any crazy tricks, so it just acted as a stupidly thin shield, leaving his Aura to soak up the rest. All told, by the time Windfall actually got within range, the match was a fifth over.

That deficit was very quickly dealt with. Ren was quick, but the sheer difference in range made dealing with Windfall a nightmare. Worse, each deflection to the staff released some kind of powder from the staff.

It quickly became apparent just what that was. He hadn't painted his staff- he'd coated it in Dust. Any loosened Dust somehow remained by the staff, floating a fixed distance from it as he whipped it around and furiously pressed Ren back. Ren wasn't taking any damage, thankfully, but he was being pushed back under the pressure and left no room to counterattack.

And then, after what must have been a hundred failed blows, they pair found themselves near the edge of the arena. You couldn't actually be knocked out of it- the barrier surrounding it kept things in just as easily as out- but being pressed up against a wall was still a huge disadvantage. Ren would know that too, and it seemed like he would break off to the side, but Windfall acted first.

His staff spun, and where the Dust has previously meerly hovered, now is funneled out in a tornado-like shape from the staff. The wind itself wouldn't have accomplished much, especially with Ren already halfway out of it, but it wasn't alone.

Lightning, Fire, Ice, and some purple kind he didn't recognized combined together to unleash a storm of chaotic energy. It had a kind of gravitational pull, visibly dragging Ren back towards it even while Windfall seemed unaffected.

98% Aura quickly became 40% as he kept up the technique for as long as possible. However, when Ren was finally allowed to slam into the ground as a soot covered and partially frozen vegetable, he understandably surrendered.

For all his enthusiasm going into this school, Jaune could only watch in horror as things remained as unfair as that the whole time. Pyrhha? Wiped out Denada without taking a blow. Weiss? Smashed her opponent into the side wall with one glyph before freezing him against it until he surrendered. The whole class was a never ending parade of landslides, finally culminating in a realization of just what these people were being trained to do.

They were being trained to win, whatever the odds and however they needed to.

Against the Grimm? He could accept it then, but that wasn't what was happening here. Half of these people had weapons practically designed to fight _people. _Their semblances? Of those he saw, at least six would be completely worthless when fighting an even vaguely threatening monster.

Was this... Was this what Beacon was really about? Nobody seemed to have the dawning horror or negative outlooks he did. While the losers were often frustrated, nobody but him even seemed to take it badly.

There weren't any lasting injuries, either, so he might be overreacting a little, but this whole class design just seemed... Wrong. Like there was some fundamental flaw just staring him in the face that everyone seemed to miss. Fighting other people to get better was just-

An arm bumped his shoulder, dragging him from his thoughts. "Whatever it is you're thinking of, stop it. I can see the distress all over you."

Jaune glanced over to Weiss, who had returned her gaze to the current showdown between some martial artist named Novus and a spear user he couldn't quite remember the name of. "I was... Concerned over why we're training to fight people. A lot of these people seem like they'd be better at that than hunting Grimm."

She didn't dismiss his thoughts outright, which was nice, but the way she 'hmm'ed still left him with the impression she didn't agree. "I can see your point, but criminals are often more dangerous than the Grimm are. People like Roman Torchwick or the White Fang are much more common than a large Grimm invasion."

He hummed right back, thinking about it. Jaune obviously didn't know the statistics themselves, but there's only even been one Grimm attack on Ansel that he could remember. A pack of Beowulfs came by and was succinctly slaughtered in a battle almost as unfair as his own against Cardin, or so his dad told him.

"Wouldn't the brilliant tactic of 'group up and hit it till it dies' still work against criminals, though?" Sure, criminal huntsman would be an issue, but they hardly outnumbered the heroes. Semblances could mess that up, but there's only so far that something like that could take you. In a 100 vs 1, they're still screwed.

"That implies we know where they are."

_Oh... That would be an issue._

If taking the fight to them was as simple as he'd just stated, the White Fang would be a thing of the past. They hid, struck from the shadows, and most would have a disguise more or less impossible to see without a lead.

Sure, they could defend priority targets, but how many huntsmen could there even be? Beacon accepted 40 people per year, and generously assuming they all got thirty years in the field that was still only 1200 for the entire country of Vale. Apprenticeships were a thing, but so were casualties and retirement, so the number was likely less.

When you really thought about it, there just weren't enough huntsmen out there. 1200, even quadrupled for the different nations, was _nothing _compared to the total population of Vale and its territories. Getting a sensus was hard, but even just the city itself had over 400,000 people.

Which... Actually led to a different problem altogether.

"Why aren't we training more people? I get that Beacon has a limited capacity, but there could always just be lower class schools. A 'community college' if you will."

Weiss glanced back to the stage, briefly noting that nobody they knew was involved before turning back to him. "While _you _clearly weren't subject to this, high standards exist for a reason. Mistral tried the whole 'train everybody' thing a long time ago, when it was still three lesser kingdoms. Look up the collapse of Shinsen in your own time, but the end result is that the system leads to more criminal huntsmen to deal with."

Which obviously wouldn't help with the criminal issue... If there were enough to stop the Grimm, why exasperate other issues needlessly? That was probably a secondary reason not everyone got their Aura unlocked. The randomness of semblances alone would make security a near impossibility.

Speaking of which- "I couldn't find any books on semblances specifically back home or in the school library. Are there any?"

The heiress was unaffected by the change in subject, simply continuing on with the same lecturing tone. "Not really. While nobody has proven it directly, a person's Aura is thought to be their soul. Semblances, as a reflection of it, are considered taboo to do any more than observe, so research is lacking. What we can observe isn't even consistent, either."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's take their nature, for example. Say your father is a telekinetic. You might develop a similar ability- like psychokinesis- the same one, or something completely random and unrelated." Weiss raised a hand, a miniature glyph forming atop it. "My semblance is a perfect example. The Schnee family, despite marrying outside it multiple times, has always had a line of the same semblance. It's actually gotten _better _over time, with new kinds of glyphs and the summons being added."

Wait, wait. There was _more_ to her semblance!? It already had the potential to win some fights on its own- how unfair could the world be? And if it was hereditary, as she said, it could potentially spread to hundreds of people across the generations.

"Is the way it unlocks variable too?"

She smiled. "It is. My family has unlocked it through rigid discipline, and the more complex elements require even further training. Most, however, unlock them through life-threatening situations."

_Like my father... _He hadn't told them directly since he avoided mentioning all the missions he was in real danger, but all active huntsmen had public profiles. Part of the control thing they'd already covered. Having a record of all missions, their abilities, weapons, and more acted both to deter and empower opposition against them.

Or so he assumed since he hadn't actually seen that in action personally.

_I must seem cynical from the outside. _He didn't think the world was shitty, or anything, but the nature of the Grimm necessitated pragmatism. He wasn't nearly as cold as Coral, but he definitely saw his sister's point on the larger scales.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jaune asked, patting Crocea Mors at his side. Besides throwing himself into deadly situations, he was totally cool with exploring the change to unlock his semblance.

"Nope," she replied, deftly killing that dream. In the first comforting act this whole day, she patted his shoulder, though pointedly didn't leave his hand there. "Only three families in history have had semblances they unlock purposefully, and the Vastaya family died out in the Great War." She glanced up at him, smirking ever so slightly. "You wouldn't happen to have horns, would you?"

The ridiculousness of that question actually got him to laugh. It was strong but short as he let off a resounding no.

"Then you're out of luck," Weiss shrugged. "Every Schnee in history has had white hair, so you're definitely not a long lost cousin or something."

Oum dammit. "So I just gotta risk my life over and over?"

She snorted, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth as if to hide it. The answer to the question was pretty obvious just from that, but she elaborated a moment later. "It's not really the danger, but the desperation. If you're intentionally throwing your life away, it won't even work."

Huh... That was bound to be a problem. Everyone else that he'd spoken to had unlocked theirs in an early childhood incident, and Nicholas was no exception. Beacon was safe, offering him no real chance to do the same unless he or someone else fucked up colossally.

Bollox.

Jaune sighed, slowly molding himself with the cushions of his seat.

"Don't be like that," Weiss tried, ultimately failing at sounding sympathetic. "Plenty of people have fought Grimm and made a living without a combat semblance. It's a disadvantage, not a career-ender, and you'll get yours eventually."

Yeah. And until he did, there was a very real risk his inexperience and lack of abilities could get them all killed. Cold as she was, he didn't want Weiss in danger, much less dead. Same for Blake, lonesome girl that she was.

And... Yang was just awesome, so obviously he wanted her around. Who wouldn't? A hot blonde girl with an eight-pack that can cut glassf? What's not to like?

"I'll fight for you..." It was whispered, but from the way Weiss suddenly became rigid in staring at the ongoing fight, she'd heard.

_Doesn't make it any less true. _Jaune returned his own attention to the stage, catching the moment some green clad kid- Novus, according to the Aura meters- cracked another of Cardin's teammates- Dove- in the chin. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have done much to someone with Aura, but Dove was already pressed against the arena's barrier.

He was knocked unconcious, not even dropping below 60% Aura.

_And I've got a lot of work to do._


	8. Weiss Cream

**Hey guys- I've got great news! We're going to Comicon 2020! You can meet me, and my crew, there in Emerald City. Of course, I have MORE great news!**

**Yah boi managed to write two chapters worth (This + Port's fight) before I even went on the trip, meaning there will be more for when I come back.**

**I'll be looking to reincorporate music into this here soon, with both Jaune and Weiss using it as a method to vent or explain themselves. Not sure if I'll be able to drag anyone else along- besides Nora, who will obviously be off-key singing whenever possible- but I'm curious who all you'd be interested in being in a rap battle. I'm working on one for the show, and since it won't be released for a while, some extra practice would go great in improving it.**

**Jannai.**

* * *

**Of course, I could always just not publish it like an idiot… We're going into town, so I can still update this, but jeez man.**

* * *

Saturday. To most, it would be a day of relaxation after a hard Friday class. Even the winners often lost some Aura, and most were relishing the days off anyway.

Beacon was a boarding school for violent and energetic teenagers; having time off was a matter of life and death. Thankfully, they obliged, leaving Jaune with two entire days free of classes or obligations.

Not that he didn't have shit to do. Oum, did he have stuff to do. There was the training with Weiss, reading up on an entire war for Oobleck who somehow considered a weekend enough time for a twelve-page essay, and…

_Hey, kid! My girl's been missing her favorite boy toy. When you coming to visit?_

_-Garrard_

While Neo wanting to see him was terrifying enough, and the message more or less demanded he drop by at least briefly, that wasn't the problem.

Jaune glanced to the bed next to him, and the way Weiss pointedly stared at her scroll and ignored his presence entirely. _That_… It wasn't his fault he hadn't gotten to it first! His ring tone had always woken him up before. Maybe it was an Aura thing? It only seemed to happen when it was already low from the day.

Whatever. He could ask Roman, Weiss, or even just the CCTNet later. What mattered was what he did right now.

Roman's message might have been phrased as a question, but it so obviously wasn't that Jaune had to wonder why he bothered. The problem was, leaving would only add to the 'indecent' reputation Weiss was no doubt building in her head.

_Screw it. She already thinks the worst of me._

Strapping Crocea Mors to his hip, since it would inevitably get some use with Neo around, Jaune made his way out.

* * *

Weiss let out a relieved sigh when Jaune finally left the room and was immediately thankful nobody else was around to hear it. Blake was… Somewhere, while Yang was off with her sister in Vale.

Ordinarily, Weiss would have relished the time alone. Beacon was great, but the people here were far more… Extreme in personality than those in Atlas. Better, her wealth hardly seemed to matter, though Pyrrha was far less fortunate with her fame.

Today was not an ordinary day.

Weiss flattened out atop her bed, letting her scroll click closed. She hadn't been paying attention to it- not really. Juvenile as it was, she had a more pressing issue than the world news.

Seventeen years of repression were undone by a single message not even meant for her. Oum, she was weak.

"And now I've got to deal with you…" Not 'this', but 'you', because it definitely wasn't a part of her. Schnee name aside, she had a negative interest in a relationship. Worse, this wasn't a desire to be with anyone, but lust.

Is it going to be worth ignoring…? Lack of interest aside, she had to say the people here were attractive. Well, besides Jaune. Oh, she'd seen him shirtless and was thoroughly underwhelmed by the display.

Huntsmen had the metabolism of your average rocket engine and had bodies to match. Jaune had inherited that advantage but was nowhere close to getting the benefits.

And now she was surrounded by dozens of 'hot' guys while her hormones finally kicked in.

Blake would be spending the whole day in the library, as usual, Yang would be gone until evening, and Jaune was out with some floozy. She was all alone.

Balderdash.

_Can't even swear in my own head. Figures._

Jacques' had been tireless in purging all individuality from his children. Whitley a little less so, but Weiss attributed that to him being more like Jacques to start with.

And it figures that the one thing she'd prefer to be without would be undone first…

Screw the both of them.

"Eugh!" she exclaimed, her hormones being completely unhelpful right now. She hated the thought of Jaune like that enough without Jacques of all people being added to it. He wasn't a father to her, but that didn't make it any less horrifying to imagine.

A distraction; that's what she needed. Ren would inevitably have been caught up in Nora's madness, but maybe Pyrrha was free? A good spar- one that was more than just kicking Jaune's teeth in, as cathartic as that would be right now- would go a long way.

* * *

Jaune lept from the bullhead, landing on the sweet, sweet tarmac on his hands and knees. Could he please get over that somehow!? Would he be stuck vomiting on every mission till retirement!?

Sighing, Jaune stood up. He was being stared at with interest and confusion- or indignation, in the case of those on the bullhead with him- but he ignored it well enough.

Unfortunately, that lack of attention to everyone else also left him vulnerable to a particular ambush.

"Mrnin Noh," Jaune managed into the concrete.

She obviously didn't greet him back, but she smiled innocently down at him when he peeled his face out of the ground. Yeah, like he or anyone else bought that.

Still, there wasn't much he could really do about it. Saved him the trip, he guessed.

"Wait, what are-"

Before he could finish the thought, Neo pressed a finger to his lips, using her free hand to sign something he took as 'later'. Okay…

Jaune was about to ask what she meant when she turned around, strutting the opposite way as the 'pawn-shop' from before.

And he meant strutting. The movement of her hips had to be intentional, even if her diminutive height left it unimpressive overall. She was shorter than both Ruby and Weiss, which must have been embarrassing for someone who was presumably an adult.

Neo stopped in her tracks, pivoting on one foot to stare him down.

_You can't read minds, can you?_

She huffed, obviously unable to answer even if she could, and returned to the road with renewed vigor.

Come to think of it, Jaune had no idea what Roman of her semblances were. Roman was a known criminal, so his was probably noted somewhere, but Neo was comfortably meeting him in public without a disguise… Was she an unknown?

Better question, did he have a duty to tell someone? He only knew of one hideout, which would obviously be abandoned by the time the authorities could take action, but the identity of a criminal huntsman was hugely valuable. As he and Weiss had discussed, finding them was the biggest issue.

Strange as it was to consider, Roman was probably the best person to ask about it. Anyone he spoke to at Beacon would just rat her out instantly, while Roman had a vested interest in his and Neo's survival and secrecy. Not because of any value Jaune had to Roman, but because it would open an investigation that was bound to have some kind of lead. Roman was experienced at this, but Jaune wasn't, so there had to be a trail somewhere.

Hm…

Jaune blinked, suddenly realizing that Neo had stopped. Somewhere in his thought process, he'd begun following her, and it seemed they'd arrived.

The building was a squat brick place near the marina, though not on it directly. It didn't look abandoned since it was in top condition, but the lack of vehicles around it made it feel… Unused.

The inside was equally empty, as seen through the steel door Neo opened up before him. The warehouse was brightly lit, but that was about it. A few pieces of machinery, a wooden crate in one corner, and a person.

"Roman," Jaune greeted, still standing outside the building. "It's been far too long, let's go bowling."

The criminal chuckled quietly, striding over. "If you're paying." Roman stopped a short distance away, leaning forward slightly on his cane. "How's your training coming along?"

"Pretty goo-" Jaune cut off, turning his head to dodge the heel coming in for his face. The knee that hit him anyway was softer.

Nursing his aching nose, Jaune picked himself up off the ground. Roman was laughing, of course, but Jaune couldn't bring himself to care. He took worse on purpose, and losing to Neo was hardly an insult.

"Wow, kid- you weren't kidding- you've really improved!" Roman broke out into another fit of laughter, with Neo silently joining him.

"Hah, hah, hah," Jaune deadpanned. "Mind skipping the whole 'taking the piss' thing and get to why you called me here."

"You're no fun," Roman returned, though he did wave Jaune in as he turned back into the building. He followed, a tad reluctant to be enclosed with him.

Not that being outside would make a fight between them any less of a landslide, but maybe he could last long enough to find help? He honestly wasn't sure, having no idea what they were capable of beyond 'out of your league' strength.

"Welcome to…" Roman glanced back, noting the sign above the door. "Elemental Industries! Don't worry, that name won't lead anywhere, so no moral crisis or whatever."

_Can they both read my thoughts or something? _"About that…"

"I was kidding, kid! Please tell me you're not stupid enough to try and report this place."

"It's not that," Jaune said, shaking his head. "I want to hear a reason from you why I shouldn't tell Ozpin and whoever else about Neo, or otherwise act against you."

Roman stilled in his walk- Neo, pointedly, kept moving to join Roman's side.

"Can't tell if you're bold or just crazy."

"Neither," Jaune answered. His heart rate certainly said he hadn't just lost his mind. As for being bold… "I'm already at risk of being attacked by you on the chance I do it. I'd prefer to have a good reason not to, both to assuage your doubts and mine."

The criminal slowly spun in place, meeting his gaze evenly. "And if I killed you here? We're alone, out of sight or hearing of the public."

"You can't kill me instantly, and Beacon scrolls come equipped with a panic button." Not what the owner's manual had called it, but that was essentially what it was. If in range of the CCT, it sent your location to everyone on your personal network. Jaune doubted any of his classmates would be much use, but…

Port? Oobleck? Glynda? Ozpin? All the staff were automatically included, and they could simply message anyone on hand.

"Kid," Roman sighed, stalking forward.

Jaune, in turn, reached into his pocket and palmed his scroll. It was a threat, but one that could backfire hard.

Roman set a hand on Jaune's shoulder, all the while Jaune's finger pressed lightly atop the panic button. Their eyes met, tension mounting as Jaune resisted the implied threat.

And then Roman snorted, laughing himself silly as he backed off.

"You've got balls, kid- more than I did at your age, I'll tell you that." Roman recovered from his mirth, returning to his post atop his cane. "And I'll even give you the reason you wanted."

Jaune tried not to slump forward in relief and mostly succeeded. They definitely knew anyway, but at least he remained standing.

The pair of them smiled at the sight, but Roman's fell away quickly as he explained himself.

"You, and Ozpin for that matter, can't really afford to give me the boot. I'm ruthless but efficient. When was the last time I or my people killed anyone?" Jaune had no idea, but presumably it was either never or a long time. "If I was deposed, someone would inevitably take my position, and they might not be so gentle. I keep the criminals of this town alive, but also subtle. Careful. Safe."

_Manageable_, Jaune finished for him, thinking it over. "Okay."

Roman continued to stare at him, but Neo gave him a wide grin. Did she want me to say that, then? A simple ascent?

"That's all?" Roman asked, just to be sure. "You're okay with that."

Jaune nodded. Why wouldn't he be? He asked for something and got it.

"Damn. Damn, damn, damn," Roman clicked, glancing between him and Neo. "Looks like I owe someone a gallon of ice cream."

He blinked. "Huh?"

Roman ignored him completely, going on a rant about losing a bet for the first time in years. Neo, as the apparent winner of it, simply walked circles around the flamboyant criminal, smiling all the way.

"As for the reason you're really here…" Roman stared him down, his frustration evident but fading. "I have a favor to ask of you."

Jaune remained silent. If Roman wanted it, the favor was probably criminal in nature, but then Jaune was technically a criminal too. The real concern was what the favor was, and why Roman couldn't do it himself.

When it became clear he wouldn't ask, Roman continued. "Among far too many things, I've been saddled with watching over another criminal in your midst. Honestly, with the Branwen kid they accepted, it should be obvious Ozpin doesn't care."

Jaune raised his hand in an attempt to ask about the 'Branwen kid' thing but wasn't given the chance.

"Either way, I need two things from you. The first will be a tad difficult- ensure Blake Belladonna doesn't go out into Vale without one of you present."

_Blake's a criminal? And wait, how did he know about their team!? Was that part of the public record?_

"As for the other... " Roman tossed him an opaque plastic bag he hadn't had a few seconds ago. "I need you to deliver something to dear ol' Bart for me."

Jaune caught the gray plastic easily enough, though the weight of the package caught him by surprise. Jeez, it must have weighed thirty pounds at least. "What is it?"

"None of your business," Roman snapped, cracking his cane against the ground. "I need it delivered, and I need it done discreetly. Bart should meet you at the docks to grab it. If he's gone, just leave it outside his office. No one is to see what's in that bag."

Roman stood straight up, his gaze intense as he stared Jaune down.

_"Am. I. Understood."_

Not a question… That would be too simple. It was a threat.

"Yes," he nodded.

Roman maintained his gaze. "Yes what?"

"Yes, sir," Jaune conceded, making sure to bow his head.

Roman nodded, turning away. "Neo? See him out."

The ice-cream themed girl smiled, and he recognized it.

With skill befitting his training, Jaune caught her heel with his gut, bending over it to restrict its movements. His chin blocked her palm, leaving him to tactically stumble back towards the door.

Diving forward and landing on her hands, Neo flipped both feet up into his face, sending Jaune flying out onto the tarmac.

Sadly, Jaune thought as he lay back to watch a few clouds wisp by, that might be the best farewell he'd ever get from her.

* * *

"Yang? Ruby?"

Lilac eyes glanced up to a more normal blue, recognizing them instantly. It was hard not to, given who they belonged to.

"Jaune," she returned with a smile. "What's up?"

He frowned slightly, lifting a bag in one hand. "Just picking up a delivery for Oobleck. What were you up to?"

Yang groaned, doing her best to ignore the way Ruby's eyes lit up. She loved her- she really did- but this was one conversation she'd be skipping out on.

Thankfully, Ruby forgot her existence entirely as she went on a shpeel about her new weapon upgrades. Or the parts for them, anyway. Jaune seemed as lost as she would have been, and while Yang shared a sympathetic look with him, she took the opportunity to flee the bullhead docks.

As she entered Beacon proper, Yang considered her options. The training halls were always open, but the odds were good that nobody worth a fight was going to be there this early. It was only lunchtime…

Hm. Maybe she could find those girls from the fight with Port. Nora would be a hard sell, but the others- Knova and...

Wait… Who was the fourth? There had been four in that fight- she was sure of it. But then, only three people had been excused from combat class, which was why Cardin had been allotted a second fight.

Odd. Whatever- she'd ask someone else about it later. For now, she needed to find a proper fi-

Yang watched blankly as Weiss stomped past her, visibly exhausted and with her clothing all but ruined. It's what she got for wearing white in a combat school, really, but the clear frustration on her face said something a little more.

A decent distance behind her, Pyrrha tried to call out, but Weiss didn't bother turning.

_Oh_… It wasn't hard to figure out what happened.

"P-money," Yang called, jogging over. "How'd she do?"

She sighed. "One hit, and we both knew it was a freebie…"

Yang nodded, relating at least slightly. She wasn't 'invincible' by any means, but she had two total losses in her record at Signal, both in her first year. Now at Beacon, that remained untouched, with the only obvious contender being the regional champion of another kingdom.

It felt good, honestly, but the fact remained that they hadn't had a chance to fight yet. And wouldn't still, from the fact that Weiss clearly needed a chance to vent.

"Before I go break the ice," Yang began, smirking at her own pun. Annoyingly, Pyrrha didn't even seem to notice it. "Do you remember the fourth girl in the fight with Port?"

"Knova?" Pyrrha guessed.

"Nah, the other one. I can't remember the name, but I know there was one."

Pyrrha frowned. "I seem to have forgotten as well. Sorry."

Yang waved it off, already turning to her team's dorm. "No worries- see you later."

"Right."

* * *

The door to their room barely made a sound as it opened, and if not for the fact that nothing else was happening nearby, Weiss would have missed it.

Even then, Weiss couldn't bring herself to care. Her anger had quickly abated, as it always did, leaving her more exhausted than anything. She hadn't even bothered changing before collapsing atop the bed, and couldn't even bring herself to care about that.

"How you holdin' up?"

Weiss waited a moment in silence, hoping that Yang would take the hint. Of course, the living battering ram did no such thing, and Weiss felt the shift when Yang sat down on her bed.

"Was the fight with Pyrrha that bad?"

She considered not answering again, but the fact was she needed to vent. Maybe not about her original issue, but _something_. Weiss sat up, staring Yang down. "An hour and a half of hitting air while being encouraged like a child? No- it was great!"

Yang shifted back slightly at her shout but leaned back in to offer her support. "She got her title for a reason- I'd bet my hair her 'unknown' semblance is why she's never been hit." The blonde paused after saying that, turning slightly to look at her golden mane. "Okay, maybe not that far, but my point still stands."

Weiss laughed. It was short-lived, but she did, and from Yang's smile it had been intentional.

"I figured that out; doesn't make it any less frustrating."

Yang nodded slowly in the universal gesture of understanding, though it was impossible to tell if it was genuine. Weiss had to admit, Yang was definitely stronger than she was. Not that she was weak, but rather that her skills fell into the support role more than that of a combat specialist.

"So, what's this really about?"

_Huh?_ Weiss met her gaze, confusion running clear through her own. "Who told you there was more going on?"

"You," she returned, smirking. "Just now."

Weiss deadpanned.

"Oh come one, I practically raised Ruby. You think she was honest about everything?" She grinned viciously. "There were quite a few bullies she tried to save from a Yanging. Tried."

_That explains a frightening amount, actually._ But it also didn't mean opening up about her problem was a good idea. Yang was literally a party girl, and would inevitably suggest the direct approach- which was also a horrible approach right now.

"I'll deal with my problems myself, as all Schnee's have. If my father could manage it, I can too."

And wasn't that a loaded statement, which Weiss noted could be mistaken for pride in the man. Not that it specifically mattered right now since she never planned on _any_ of her teammates meeting Jacques. Or Whitley, now that she thought of it.

Yang rolled her eyes, but it hardly mattered what she thought. She'd never know what the problem is- nobody could- and so Weiss would deal with it herself.

And, she thought as the door opened to the man who haunted her thoughts, she had just the plan for how to do it.


	9. Icebreaker

**Man, has it been a while. I ended up leaving my laptop charger in Rimrock like an idiot, so I wasn't able to write from work for a bit. Got it replaced, thankfully, so I might be able to resume my weekly publishing schedule.**

**Speaking of good news- for you guys, for once- the show is running a public audition for most of the side characters, and you're all invited to join up. I'm not sure on the details exactly, but all of them are paid roles. Simply search for 'Inheritance' on Casting Call Club.**

**We're aiming to take mostly amateurs looking to make a name for themselves. We've hired professionals for the main four and the narrator, but you can't even imagine how expensive they are. As a former voice actor myself, I feel jipped.**

**Hope to see you there; tchuss!**

* * *

Familiarity bred contempt.

It wasn't the most complex idea, but sayings existed for a reason. It wasn't even alone- distance makes the heart grow fonder was the same idea in reverse.

And it's not like that was the full extent of her plan, either. She already trained with Jaune quite regularly, so simply stepping it up a notch and proving his lack of skill should dissipate any lingering attraction.

Not that the simpleton was really helping with that. While his skills were still mostly garbage, he picked up whatever she actually taught to him pretty much instantly. His stance, his blocks, they were fine.

_And yet…_

Weiss blurred forward with the power of a glyph- Myrtenaster held before her in a thrust. He raised his shield in front of him, as usual, but made the same mistake as the last four times.

With his vision blocked by his own shield, Weiss simply twirled in the air, smacking the shield aside with her leg mid-swing. His Aura took the strike easily enough, but that still left her winning the trade.

He made to swing his own blade at her- a sweeping gesture more fit for a scythe like Ruby than any sword- and obviously missed.

_And yet he still can't attack me._

It was a stupid honor thing, she just knew it. He wouldn't attack a woman, or his partner, or some other dumbass reason like that. He could attack better than that; a child could do better, and many often did.

Worse, while it was insulting, she was aware of the reasons, so she couldn't even convince herself he hated her. _That_ at least would have been enough.

"Fight me like the man you pretend to be!" she shouted, throwing a wave of fire his way. It would hurt- hopefully enough to goad him into attacking her properly. If not… She'd simply have to beat the stupidity out of him manually.

* * *

_"Fight me like the man you pretend to be!"_

The words ran through his head on loop, the meaning both clear and demoralizing. He was trying, but it clearly wasn't enough to convince her that he even was serious.

Was… Was he that weak? His dad had prevented him from attending a training school, but he was hardly lazy. Whatever free time he had back home was spent training. Pushups, running, whatever he could do on his own.

He wasn't skilled. He knew that from the start and his fight against Cardin had only reinforced it. But… With enough hard work, wasn't anyone supposed to be able to do this?

Fire washed over him, and he didn't even bother with it. He wasn't fast enough to dodge, his shield would only block a portion, and his Aura was more than enough to block the damage anyway. It didn't even hurt- not really.

_What am I doing here…?_

**Fighting**.

_Fighting what, though?_

**Yourself**.

That sounded about right. For years, he had been the biggest obstacle he could face. Even his father wouldn't have been able to stop him from going to Signal if he'd just… Just _done_ it.

**Fight**.

_But how?_ The thought was so obvious, but it didn't mean anything on its own. Everyone here had been training for seven years or more- with their Aura unlocked already, which would speed that up. He couldn't catch up with that.

**Believe.**

_In WHAT!?_ He'd always thought to himself, even in the middle of stressful situations, but that usually led somewhere. Here, all his brain could conjure were useless platitudes and single word answers.

**Fight.**

_I know that already, but-_

**Fight**.

_I-_

**Fight**.

Jaune took a breath, steeling himself in front of Weiss. She'd been patient enough, letting him think this over mid-battle. Strange as it was, the thought wasn't wrong. If he had any chance of improving, he'd have to simply throw himself into this more and more. Not just with Weiss, but with Yang, Blake, Nora, Ren, and everyone else too.

_I have to **fight**._

Crocea Mors dipped just an inch as he entered a familiar stance. It wasn't one Weiss had taught him- or one he'd been taught at all. Nicholas had done his best to shield him from the duty of a Huntsman, but he had to train sometime himself, and he hadn't always done so unwatched.

His Aura flared as he manually reinforced his entire body. Port's lessons, while endlessly entertaining, had a few really important lessons hidden amongst them. The one most able to help him survive- active protection cost less Aura than the passive, so long as you knew you'd take damage.

Rocking back on his heels, Jaune dashed forward. Twelve feet became two in an instant, and he cut across in a wild slash. Weiss ducked under, sliding artfully to the side, but was unprepared when he continued the spin and raised his boot.

Pain exploded up his leg, but that would barely compare to what Weiss felt as she skid back. He didn't just stop there, though- he lunged after her, tossing his blade aside entirely to thrust the base of his shield down with both hands.

A glyph was already opening up beneath her as he came down, but he didn't dart back. However they moved, he would hit her.

* * *

Two seconds.

Attacking with unnatural speed, a strength he didn't have mere moments earlier, and uncharacteristic brutality, he'd put her down.

Not out, as the white spreading beneath her promised in the brief instant she had to reflect, but still far more than he should have. His weapons were an effective match for her, and his Aura made beating him a tedious affair, but he was still a civilian at heart.

_Or so I thought…_

The glyph took hold as if in slow motion. The instant it was in place, she set it off, imbuing her with a powerful burst of upward momentum.

Directly into Jaune's attack.

* * *

The impact sent waves up his arms, but he knew she had it worse.

With enough force to plow him dozens of feet back, she crashed into the edge of his shield, and he just… Didn't get moved. Crocea Mors, or half of it anyway, continued downward as though nothing had been in the way at all.

He didn't hear the first impact- shock, at a guess- but he definitely heard the gasp Weiss made when he slammed her right back into the ground.

The ground didn't crack, or anything as dramatic as that, but the fact she made a pained sound at all was unusual. The way she curled up, cradling her gut, despite the Aura meters above saying she was fine?

That was far worse.

_What did I-?_

**Fight.**

_No!_ He needed to think about this rationally- take care of it. What was even wrong? She was in pain, but did he actually injure her?

He'd thrown his shield away on instinct, but simply looking at it was enough to confirm there wasn't any blood. Internal damage? He's slammed directly onto her diaphram, so she might have problems breathing.

Doing his best to ignore his own racing heart and panic, Jaune kneeled down next to her. It was fast, and not particularly deep, but she was breathing. Good- good, that was good. Her Aura should take care of anything else down there. Except it should have protected her in the first place… Brute force was effective but temporary, and she was still clearly in pain.

"Allow me to help."

Jaune glanced up, meeting the comparatively calm gaze of Ozpin. What he was doing here, Jaune neither knew nor cared. "What do I do!? What did I-!?"

"Stay calm- every member of staff has training in first aid, and both Glynda and I have more." He leaned down himself, surveying her from one knee. "And while she doesn't need it, we also have a doctor on standby. You might have heard of Tsune."

The Aura specialist Port mentioned? He shook his head- it wasn't important. "What happened? I've _seen _those things knock people back before, but I just ignored it."

Ozpin didn't answer right away, but Jaune was willing to wait while he did… Something to Weiss. What looked like green Aura flowed from his hands into her, mending any injuries until she was sitting up without issue.

"It would appear, Jaune Arc, that you've found your semblance."

_Huh?_

He wasn't alone in the thought, as Weiss recoiled in shock too. "How!? Literally all that changed in the past minute was I yelled at him."

The headmaster simply smiled enigmatically. "Your words must have meant a lot to him, then."

It took a moment for the meaning of the words to sink in, and they both shouted denials at him. Through it all, his smile didn't so much as shrink.

"Regardless, I'm sure you've learned your lesson, so I'll leave you to your fun," Ozpin said, standing back up and walking away. Only now did Jaune notice that he was missing his cane, implying he didn't need it to walk. He stopped at the door to the training room, looking back at them with a slightly wider grin. "Don't have too much fun, though."

Jaune simply blinked as the headmaster vanished into the corridor, chuckling to himself. Weiss was far less composed, hurling abuse after him until she finally remembered who it was.

_What a day…_

A sliver of white light caught his eye and he glanced down, only to see another glyph forming beneath him. "What are-?" He didn't get to finish, as a sudden burst of momentum sent him crashing into the far wall.

* * *

Ozpin found himself with a genuine smile, even within the confines of his empty office. Today was a productive day, for more than just educating students. As fun as it was to watch the new generation, it got old over the centuries.

This one was a little bit special, though. Not the people, but…

Yet again, Ozpin found his eyes drawn to the pictures of his old comrades. Most of them were in his desk, rather than atop it, but he could remember them all clearly.

Nicholas Schnee, a wealthy philanthropist and provider of materials and labor. A good man, as much as his name was being tarnished by his successor.

Alistair Lionheart, a faunus diplomat and Ozpin's only tie in with Menagerie back during its foundation. Not being able to reincarnate as a faunus had its disadvantages…

Knuren October, the last Fall maiden to actually accept his tutelage. Four decades of training and friendship brought to a bitter end by greed- at least before Amber came along.

Robin Winchester, an ally throughout his many conflicts prior to the Great War, where grief for his wife drove him on a quest for vengeance.

While all four were dead, a legacy of them continued on, and this was true of quite a few others. But it wasn't just a family line that marked the last one as special.

At the corner of his desk, the smiling face of Jeremy Alabaster Arc stared right back at him,stood before the smoking corpse of the first Amphiptere Grimm ever found. The Yellow Death gleamed in his hands, raised proudly at the accomplishment.

"It's been a long time, old friend."


End file.
